Killer
by DeathDrayanD
Summary: An AU of the first book of TUC. What if Gregor never made it to the Underland, and someone else did? Main character is my OC. Sorry if you don't like him... Rated T for Teen because of violence and dark thoughts(?), just to be safe. I'm not really a fan of romance, so this AU will have a lot of action-packed stuff that never happened in the original series.
1. Chapter 1

Fugitive. Vigilante. Stealer. Robber. Murderer. _Killer._

Those are some of the many names I have garnered over the years. I didn't give a damn about what anyone thought of me. Let the media call me whatever they want. But those names got my loved ones worried. My house was often surrounded by reporters and officers, who wanted to arrest me. Of course, I wouldn't fall for such a simple trap like that. So, I did what I thought was best. Terminate all known contact from everyone. Friends, family, and even acquaintances.

I knew the government would try to track me down using their clichéd troops and technology. It was so simple to avoid. I just had to travel around the world. So, I did, USA, Britain, Germany, Russia and many more by ground. I didn't have any cars, so I had to 'borrow' some, from pieces of crap like the Cherry QQ and to costly ones like a Bugatti Veyron.

Before I knew it, I was in the world's most wanted list, me being at the top of the list. I burst out laughing when I read that on the news. Who knew robbing and doing multiple assassinations could get you in that much trouble with every government official around the globe. They even gave me a code name: The Dragon Hand of Death. He who burns anything in his path, he who is the embodiment of Death itself, he who uses his knives and daggers as his fangs and claws, he who mysteriously leaves the scene as if he had flown away with his mighty wings like a dragon. I laughed even harder.

This all happened because of a heist that went wrong. I shot a woman dead in the midst of the robbery. She was making a lot of noise, shouting and screaming at the top of her lungs. So, being the impatient person I am, I had to silence her the only way I knew how, by shooting her. In the head. Killing her on the spot. I remember telling the hostages that that was the first warning. They complied silently, but her son, not so much. He charged towards me and swung a flurry of punches at me like a Rager. But like all amateurs, he was easily put down by me, a professional Rager, the best there is.

I first discovered my Rager powers when I was just 12 years old. Ragers are practically unstoppable killing machines who thirst for fights and battles. I remember the first Rager moment I had. My blood pumping; adrenaline rushing through every vein in my body, causing my accuracy to peak and my strength to increase ten-fold. That very memory curled my lips into a smile.

A honk awoke me from my daydreaming. I looked around. I had already arrived at New York. Manipulating the cops was so easy to do. All I needed was convincing wordplay.

Soon, my legs were sore. Must've driven for too long. I needed a walk. Hmmm... Where can I, a well-known criminal wanted on every blacklist in the world go to have a good stroll? I drove the car to a drive-thru, hungry for information.

I cleared my throat before asking. "Excuse me," I said in my most innocent voice possible. "Do you happen to know where a lad like me could take a stroll somewhere in New York?"

The cashier didn't even bother to look up from her phone, replying with: "Go straight down the road turn right and you should see a sign that says 'Central Park'."

I scowled. I didn't like people who don't acknowledge me as their own kind, treating me like some kind of worthless animal. I gave up on my sweet and innocent voice and went straight to the point. "Do you even know who you are talking to?" I asked menacingly, leaning closer to her.

She snorted, pulling out her earpiece, and said, "What? Are you some famous celebrity or millionaire trying to do something normal once in a while?" She kept her eyes on her phone for a few seconds before finally looking up to me.

"Oh."

I gave her a sly smile. "Oh yes indeed," and drove off to Central Park.

Once outside of Central Park, I got out of the car, not bothering to lock it. It wasn't mine anyway. I found a path and walked. Some people instantly recognized me while others looked at me with curiousity. I smiled and closed my eyes, the chatter around me slowly vanishing. I could smell the crisp cool air, and feel the breeze blowing gently onto my face. Why didn't I choose Central Park earlier? This was the perfect place to be refreshed.

But my peace didn't last long. Police sirens quickly filled the quiet air, with cops noisily rushing towards me. How annoying. I exhaled out a heavy breath, using the sound to 'see' with echolocation. I sensed a whole squadron of cops surrounding me, whipping out their pistols, some even holding SMGs. There were some military guys camping at the back, snipers at the ready. I smiled. The world really wants me captured.

I opened my eyes. My blood was pumping faster, with a surge of power flowing in my veins. Ah. The Rager sensation. How very useful.

"Sir," one of the cops spoke, probably an officer. I guess after a lot of killings even the police have forgotten my name. "You are under arrest for bank robbing and the murder of multiple innocent..." I heard the scrunching of paper. "...people."

I did a short laugh. The cocking of guns followed. "Not all of them are innocent, you know. And there's no need to read out my crimes. I know what crimes I have committed, _officer._ " I used my dialogue to mentally count how many soldiers were camping out there. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. The usual hexagonal formation. Piece of cake.

" _Chief_ , actually. Men, arrest him. Carefully." The chief said, observing me from head to toe. Five uniformed men cautiously walked towards me. Two of them grabbed their handcuffs, one pointing his finger to my pocketed hands. I slipped a few knives and a dagger under my jacket sleeve and offered my hands, which they handcuffed quickly. Twice.

"Aw, chief, why the double security?" I asked him innocently. He ignored my question and continued inspecting me. I knew he was suspicious of me just giving in to the cops.

"Search him." I almost smiled with joy. They took the bait. Once someone had touched me, I swiftly grabbed him by the arm and swung him around the surrounding four, knocking them out. They showed no resistance. I didn't let the other policemen react in time. I hauled the one I was still holding, arm locked him and held my dagger at the top of his head, where the skull is the most fragile.

The others aimed their guns at my head, but the chief commanded them to put them down. I heard the uneasiness of the snipers. The cop I was holding hostage was hyperventilating. "Now what, _chief_? Me or him? I'll give you ten seconds to disarm everyone, snipers included." I counted quickly. "Ten!" I stabbed him in the wrist. He screamed in pain. Blood sprayed all over his arm and onto my face. "Nine!" In the arm. "Eight!" The shoulder. "Seven!" Chest. "Six!"

Before I could stab him in the heart, a voice wailed out, "Stop!" I intentionally stopped, pointing the tip of my dagger on the left side of his chest, his blood oozing out slowly. He wasn't breathing anymore. Either it was due to shock or pain, I didn't care.

"Well, _chief?_ My patience is running low. _Decide._ "

"Please, just..." I glared at him. He changed his words. "My brother... Him..." The chief was crying. That was a surprise. He did a hand signal, which made the snipers appear behind him, their guns slung over their backs.

"Good choice." I kept my dagger back into one of my custom dagger slots and tossed his lifeless corpse to the chief, which he miserably caught. I walked back a few steps. "But too slow." Using my Rager instincts, I threw a throwing knife directly at the left side of the carcass's chest, making sure that I had used enough force to penetrate through his skin, muscles, ribs and heart. It made contact. He was dead. In his brother's arms. I turned my back and walked away. "It's been nice knowing you, chief. The next time we meet will be your last."

Then the screaming started. I laughed maniacally. My sadism rose. Suddenly, a sound rang out. Gunfire. My Rager instincts roared to life. I turned my body back, equipping my dagger once more and deflected the bullet. The one who shot was the chief; his eyes red and watering with tears. My smile crept up to my lips again, this time with my permission. "That's more like it! Bring it all!" I extended my arms, leaving me in a defenceless stance.

A horizontal rain of bullets was the reply. I deflected all of them with ease, something only a Rager could do. "Yes! YES! Bring them all!" More and more bullets came. I used my knives to block them and let some hit my chest to satisfy the cops, to make it seem as though they had breached through my Rager defence, only to annoy them when they had realised that I was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, if only a split second.

Soon I realised that the wave of bullets were significantly increasing. I looked to my front. The Military and Special Ops were here. Hell, even the anti-riot police were here. Damn it. I was so focused on the bullets that I failed to notice that backup had arrived, sooner than I thought. My part of me told me that I couldn't go on anymore. Or can I?

I purposely let some bullets injure me, to heighten my Rager senses even more. There we go. Much better.

Suddenly, the bullets stopped. My excitement dropped drastically. Party pooper. "We will give you _one_ chance." The person who was speaking though the loud-hailer was the chief himself, his voice strained but his eyes strong. Heh. Didn't know he had it in him.

"Aw, chief. You're so kind. But I have to decline. I still have to do my job." I quickly eyed the rocket launcher that the military was loading up. He was trying to distract me. I wouldn't allow that.

"Why?" The chief asked, his voice now brimming with curiosity and concern. "Why must you _kill_?"

"To rid the world of its corrupt state, chief. There are a lot of power-hungry tyrants out there. And I mean _a lot._ " I kept my weapons back into their pocket compartments. "I'm doing the world a favour here, chief. _You_ of all people should know that by now."

"And the innocents? Were they one of the tyrants too?"

"Haven't you heard, chief? I kill people who are in my way. Those 'innocents' were in my way. So I burned them alive."

The chief was about to argue back, but stopped his words from coming out. He looked at me, defeated and gave up on trying to talk with me. I knew what comes next. The rocket would fire. I took a defensive stance. Echolocation told me that there was a giant boulder about 5 meters behind me. A weak one. A plan started to form in my head. I grinned.

The one who was loading the rocket into the launcher slumped it onto his shoulder. "Permission to fire, sir," he said.

"Permission granted, soldier." I replied. He blinked twice and looked at his commander, who nodded his head. I focused. I heard the trigger being pulled. The sound of the rocket being fired. The rocket being shot to me. It came closer. I immediately dodged it using my Rager senses, letting it hit the boulder. An explosion followed. A strong gust of wind howled towards me, but I stood strong.

I quickly made a break for it once the smoke had appeared. A hole was the result of the explosion. A giant hole which leads to a long vertical tunnel. I wanted to assess what I would do when I went down there, but I didn't have time. I heard commands being shouted and gunfire soon followed. I 'saw' 7 bullets coming straight for me, two of which was faster than the others. Sniper bullets.

I unsheathed my favourite daggers, which was one third of a broadsword, and accurately tossed them behind. Five sounds of metal against metal rebounded into my ears. I didn't want to waste anymore of my knives, so I let the other two hit my bullet-resistant vest, using the recoil of the impact to throw my body forward and into the hole.

"So long, suckers!" I yelled, finally free.

 **Author's note: Please rate and review! Critics are welcome. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A new chapter in 5 days? What!?  
I apologize to the reader(s) who were confused on the previous chapter 2... I accidentally copy and pasted the fanfiction to Source Code. :(**

 **Anyways, hello! I got a review, so that's one thing! Thanks for reviewing, Clytuis! I think you'd like my second chapter. Oh yeah, I forgot to put in the Disclaimer in my first chapter, but no biggies! I'll do it in this one!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles/ Gregor The Overlander. But I do own the main character and bits of the plot. This is an AU, after all.**

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I was falling. Falling fast. Where there is supposedly no end with utter darkness. I took a breath and let it out. I've done this before. Once. This was better than the time when I was free-falling down in the sky with no parachutes. This had circular walls, according to echolocation.

I undid one of the many pockets I had on my bullet-resistant vest and took out a foldable, steel crowbar. Twisting my body towards a side of the never-ending walls, I jammed the bottom of the crowbar into the wall. The jerk of my body stopping bent the curved side of the crowbar, almost breaking it. I gave a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, there was a slight gust of wind streaming upwards. My face lit up. If there is wind, there must be air pockets, which means...

"Land!" I shouted. I abandoned the crowbar and went down. Once I did, I felt something brushing on my face. An enemy? I instinctively grabbed my small LED torchlight and shone it down. If echolocation didn't work, light will. They were... white wisps of smoke? Mist? Fog? Probably one of them.

I ran my hand through one of them. All I felt was a tingle on my fingers, nothing more. I then realized that my descent was slower, which made me assume that the wisps were slowing my fall. I forced my body to relax and tried to patiently wait till I hit ground.

I waited. Seconds passed. And waited. Minutes. I was bored when it was 5 minutes. I needed to do something. Anything. So I 'swam' towards the walls and crossed my legs, punching it. And again. And again.

I kept punching until I saw a floor. _Finally_! I steadied my legs so that it's perpendicular to the ground, bracing for impact. Surprisingly, there was only a soft thud.

I tapped my feet, using echolocation again to 'see' a pathway which splits to a fork. A cave. And it was so precisely carved. I whistled, impressed, and used the rebounding echo to navigate. Right leads to another path. I walked in, which lead to another fork. I kept searching, wondering if there was a way out. It was a left, then 3 rights, then a left. There were glimpses of light here and there, but I paid them no heed. I just assumed that they were lights for miners down here.

When I was at the end of the left cave -which leads to another damn fork- I heard scuttling. Faint, but noticeable to my ears. I unsheathed my favorite dagger. Sounds like crab. That thought made me hungry. I licked my lips.

"Who's there?" I called out. The scuttling stopped. I took a step forward, and I saw huge cockroaches sitting on their back legs in front of me.

My first thought that came to mind was: _What the hell!? How did I not notice them earlier?_ Even my echolocation was out of range from the sheer amount of cockroaches that were in my way. One was holding a torch of some kind. So that was the light I occasionally glanced at. It looked so medieval.

I shone my flashlight at one of them. All I got was a beady-eyed stare and a hiss.

"Be you human, be you?" The torch-wielder hissed.

 _Oh my god, they can speak._ "Um, yes?" I replied, gripping my dagger, shaking it. _Why am I getting so nervous? Damn you, brain._

"Be you not Overlander human, be you? No Underlander you. You look much like but smell not like."

I analyzed the situation. An Overlander probably meant people living up there, on earth. So Underlander means people living down here. I had an idea, but it was risky. I cleared my throat. "Yes, I am an Overlander. I would like to meet your..." I eyed the torch. "...King. Or Queen, if you don't have one." I quickly added, remembering that medievals had Queens without Kings before. I think. There goes my wild guess.

The roach whom I thought was the leader perked its head up. "Rat bad."

 _There are giant rats now?_ I regretted my decision of talking to the Underlanders. They were probably giants too. I shuddered, the first shudder in a very long time.

It turned to the others. "Leave we Overlander here, leave we?" The roaches huddled together in a circle and began talking.

While they were busy debating about me, I scanned the area once more, to see whether there were any rats around. Echolocation said no. Either their hearing was superior to humans or they had some animal instincts to detect predators. Do rats eat cockroaches? If they do, they must have one weird appetite. I didn't care whether I could go with them or not. If they rejected me, I could just follow them. If they accepted, that's even better.

They ended their conversation. "You come, Overlander. Take to humans." I let out a sigh of relief. So there were humans down here. I haven't been this relaxed since... Since... Huh. I couldn't even remember when was the last time I was. Probably because the roaches were so friendly.

 _Wait, friendly? Did I really just use that word? What the hell, brain..._

"Ride you, ride you? Run you, run you?" asked the roach. I examined the shiny shell of it. It looked sturdy enough, but I didn't want to take any chances.

"I'm good."

The roach looked confused. It repeated the question. "Ride you, ride you? Run you, run you?" Oh right, you have to be straightforward with them.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll run." I stated simply. The roaches took off immediately. _Woah, they're fast! But not as fast as me._ I jogged behind them, keeping in pace with them. They were heading for a tunnel. By the looks of it, a very long tunnel. It had twists and turns, but the cockroaches were unfazed by it. They chose side passages and sometimes backtracked to another route. They must've really hated those rats.

When five minutes passed -I counted, of course- I heard a roar. Not those animal roars, it's more like people cheering kind of roar. A crowd. Ah. There it is. Civilization.

The floor was suddenly sloped sharply, which almost made me lose my balance and crush the roaches. Something soft and feathery touched me. _Wait, feathery_? Before I had time to think any further, I passed through it; an unexpected light shining on my face, which I unsuccessfully tried to block with my hands.

A collective gasp came out of the crowd. I used that to my advantage, 'seeing' a polished wall enclosing a large oval cavern. My echolocation couldn't detect what was above, as it was out of range. That cavern must be fifty feet high to make my echolocation out of range.

I rubbed my eyes, adjusting them to the light. The light was dimmer than expected. The ground had a springy feeling under my feet. I looked down, seeing it covered by dusky green moss. I tapped my feet, but barely any sound came out of it.

 _It's a stadium._ _I'm in the middle of some sort of game. Wait... If there's a game, there must be players. But where are the players? The aren't in the field._

My gaze went from sides to up. I saw the athletes. They weren't humans. They were what seemed to be... dragons? A moment of pride came to me. I smiled gleefully. How ironic. The Dragon Hand meets dragons in a land under the earth.

But that pride dissipated as soon as it appeared. My eyes automatically refocused on the 'dragons'. Bats, not dragons. My smile vanished. Enormous bats- some even bigger than the roaches- ranging in colour from bright yellow to black.

 _Can bats even play?_ That was one of the long array of questions I had in my mind, going so far as to question my own existence. Too many questions. I needed answers.

A ball the size of a tennis ball dropped onto the field, bouncing fifty feet into the air. _How bouncy was that ball?_ Another question was added into the list.

When it bounced again, a shadow loomed over me. A bat was chasing after the ball. A _golden_ bat. The sparkle confirmed it. So that was the bat I thought was bright yellow.

It almost touched the ball, and then did a loop. Once it was flat on its back, I saw someone riding it on its neck. A human. A girl. A girl with weird skin?

The girl released her legs, falling to the field. She executed a flawless double backflip and twisted at the very last second to face me; her feet landing on the ground without a thud in front of the ball, picking it up.

 _Were they playing a game or performing a circus show?_ I rolled my eyes at her arrogant performance. I could do that too, besides the double backflip.

On closer inspection, she had translucent skin; I could even see her veins. Her hair was silver in colour, an odd colour for hair. It's like blonde, but with a metallic tint. The hair was woven into a intricate braid down her back and was tucked into her belt at her waist. There was a thin golden band on her head. A crown.

 _She was the Queen? But she looks so young and cocky! How does royalty work in this place?_ I had no idea my subconscious would think this way.

 _Stop with the questions, dammit. I want answers, not more questions._ I argued with my mental self.

Her head was held high, as if she was superior to me. As if she was taller than me. She was looking down at me with her dazzling light purple irises. I won't let her do that. I held my ground.

The tension rose in the atmosphere. Mumurs from the crowd spread in the air. It would've taken forever to size up each other if she hadn't broken it off. "What are you called, Overlander?"

Okay, nevermind. Her words were still trying to sting me. "Rayand. Or Ryan, for short." I added. "What's your name, _your majesty?_ "

Her fingers twitched slightly. I secretly grinned. "I am Queen Luxa."

I put my hands behind my back and haughtily said, "Well, _Queen_ , I got many questions to ask of you. Would you care to answer them for a lost Overlander such as myself?" I bowed, my head facing hers; my cheeky grin forming on my lips.

Her hand clenched into a fist. "You will not say such things to a queen."

My grin widened. "I'm sorry, did I say anything rude? I didn't, did I?"

Her eyes winced. She took a breath and suddenly brightened up, like she had a brilliant plan. She gave me a smile. A _fake_ smile. She's onto something. "No, you did not. I can answer your questions. But, Rai-yan the Overlander," she said, trying to get my name right. "you must bathe."

There it is. I scowled. My mouth moved automatically. "Do you know how to go back, up there?" I bit my tongue. _Shut up, subconscious! Let me do the talking!_

"Smelling like you do? You would be thrice dead before you reach the Waterway, even if you knew the path to take." She realized her words, cleared her throat, and changed her sentences. "You smell of the Overland. That is not safe for you here. Or for us."

I was about to reply something like: "You don't know that! I can survive well on my own!" But I stopped my mouth, luckily. It sounded so braggy. That wasn't my type.

"Sure," I said simply, shrugging my shoulders. I thought that was the end of the conversation, but she continued.

"You have had rare luck today, being found so quickly. Our lookouts noted you shortly after you landed. As you were the crawler's find, we let them present you."

"I see..." So the lookouts saw me when I landed. In the dark. Could the lookouts use echolocation too?

"They were headed here, in any case," she said, gesturing to the roaches. "See, they carry torches. They would not bother if they were not visiting us."

"Echolocation?" I blurted out.

She blinked. "I do not know. But they show themselves to us to let us know they come peacefully. Did you not wonder at how easily you arrived here?" she asked.

Without waiting for an answer from me, she turned to the group of cockroaches who had been standing patiently off to the side. "Crawlers, what take you for the Overlander?"

The head roach scurried forward. "Give you five baskets, give you?" he hissed.

"We will give three grain baskets," said Luxa.

"Rats give many fish," said the roach, cleaning its antennas casually.

"Take them to the rats, then. It will give you no time," said Luxa.

No time? Does that mean that the roaches could just leave me and let the rats get me? The alliance with the roaches was really confusing.

The insect considered Luxa's last offer. "Give you four baskets, give you?" it said.

"We will give four baskets, and one for thanks," said a voice behind me. I was too lazy to use echolocation, which relies on concentration, no matter how small. So I turned around, seeing a pale, bearded man approaching us on foot. His close-cropped hair really was silver, not just the silvery blond.

Luxa glared at the old man but didn't contradict him.

The cockroach painstakingly added up four and one on its legs.

"Give you five baskets, give you?" it asked, as if the whole idea were a new one.

"We will give five baskets," said Luxa less than graciously, giving the roach a terse bow. It bowed back and scampered off with the other bugs out of the stadium. I raised an eyebrow.

"And if it is up to Vikus, soon we will have no baskets to give," the girl said pointedly to the bearded man, who had turned his focus to me.

"One more basket will be a small price to pay if he is expected," he answered. His violet eyes stared intently at me. I shifted uncomfortably. His gaze seemed strict but kind. "Tell me, Overlander, are you from..." He searched for the words. "New York City?"

"No," I immediately responded, confused.

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 **Yay! Chapter 2 is done! Please rate and review! Critics are welcome, as usual.**  
 **By the way, this fanfiction is also posted in Wattpad. My name and the title is the same. Go check it out if you have the Wattpad app in your phone and if you are too lazy to / cant use your mobile data! I won't blame you.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Beware of the journey down below. (no pun intended)**  
 **Oh, who am I kidding. Enjoy Chapter 3!**  
 **Reply to Clytuis: Yes, I'm using the same prophecy as the one in the original book.**  
 **Disclaimer: I own my OC and _some_ of the plot points. I do not own anything else.**

* * *

"No? Do you mean to tell me you never went to New York City?" Vikus asked, staring at me, as though he wanted me to spill out the beans. It was a little mocking though. It kinda reminded me of my Commander back in my army days.

I thought about his words for a while. Ohhh... So he meant _that_ kind of from. "Well, if you put it that way, then yes, I have been in New York City, but not for long."

The old man considered my answer for a few seconds. "It is simple to fall down, but going up requires much giving," he said, answering my former question.

"Which means...?"

"He means you cannot go up," said Luxa flatly. "You must stay with us in the Underland." She made it sound like staying here was a necessity.

"And if I don't?" I asked, stepping back. I was practically fuming in my head. It was back. I never wanted to say that. It made me sound weak. _Shut up, dammit! Don't spit out anything you think!_ My alter ego was still in me. I thought I had gotten rid of the scared kid a long time ago, but it appears that it was simply in a deep slumber. My arrival in the Underland must've perked its interests.

A raised hand was the silent reply. A bat swooped in behind me. Then all the bats in the arena joined in, forming a tight circle around me in a prison of wings and fur. I wasn't surprised. Echolocation says it all. This 'prison' I was trapped in had a few flaws, all of which I noted. All the riders of the bats were as pale and silver haired as Luxa, and none of them had any trouble staying on their bats. Must be a thing going on.

One of the riders was even cocky enough to lay on a reclining position on his glossy black bat, propping up his head with one hand.

I reached for my dagger, unsheathing and holding it in front of me, letting the riders see the glory of it all. Some were amazed, some surprised, some more hostile than before. The cocky rider sat up straight, no longer cocky, but instead ready for battle.

The circle significantly shrunk closer. "What? Are you afraid?" I spat, venomous. A couple riders and bats were taken aback. I suspect they had never heard such a tone before, especially coming from an Overlander.

Luxa must've given another signal, because the bats peeled off one at a time and began wheeling around the arena in complicated patterns. But it wasn't _that_ complicated; I could see bits and pieces of the pattern. My reply to that was another dagger on my free hand, dual-wielding them. I stepped forward; they followed.

I took out my throwing knives -nine of them on my left hand- and simultaneously flung all of them to many directions, without using any of my Rager abilities. The knives flew to the tiny little gaps between the bats surrounding me, one grazing the skin of the once-cocky rider. Of course it did. I intended that to happen.

The crowd, who had been amazingly quiet since my appearance, broke out into horrified gasps.

The wheel stopped rotating. Most of the riders and bats were shocked at what I assumed to be my precision and deadliness. Either that or it's my ego talking.  
"I can do more than just that, you know..." I grabbed more throwing knives with each of my free fingers and did my devilish grin. Some bats slowly backed away.

"Halt," a voice who I recognized to be Luxa's said. The formation broke out. I saw her gaze being icy, while Vikus's one was... disappointment? Why? Was he unimpressed by my display? His stare killed my mood of tension.

I kept my daggers to their respective compartments. "So," I started, breaking the heavy atmosphere in the air, smiling away. "You said something about a bath?"

"You will follow to the palace _now_ ," said Luxa crossly. She flicked her hand, and her golden bat swept down behind her. Just as it was about to crash into her, Luxa leaped in the air. She lifted her legs straight out to the sides and touched her toes. The bat ducked under her, and she landed on its back easily. It arched up, missing me by inches. Then it righted itself in the air and sped out of the stadium.

"Show-off." I blurted, unintentionally making my voice loud enough for the surrounding others in the arena to hear. Vikus was one of them.

He walked to my side. "Will you follow to the palace, Overlander?" he asked politely.

"As your guest or...?"

"As our guest, I hope," replied Vikus. "Although Queen Luxa has no doubt ordered the dungeon readied for you." His violet eyes literally twinkled. I did a double take. Was it because of the light reflections?

"Lead the way then." I gestured to the far side of the arena. I had used echolocation to check where the exit (or was it the entrance?) was, which was fairly obvious due to the stands emptying out in that direction.

Vikus walked as I followed. High in the air, the people filed out through exits between their bleachers. Several bats still wove around the stadium doing aerodynamic maneuvers. Whatever game had been in progress had ended when I arrived. The remaining bats and riders were hanging around to keep an eye on me, hostile as ever. I gave one rider a wink, who tensed up immediately. I softly chucked.

As we neared the main entrance (or is it the exit?) of the stadium, Vikus dropped back and fell in step with me. "You must feel as if you are trapped in a dream, Overlander."

"Nah, I've been through worse." I then realised how friendly the conversation was.

"Did you?" he asked, his eyes brimming with curiousity. He didn't give me a chance to answer. "Our bats and crawlers - no, what is it you call them? Cockhorses?"

"Cockroaches," I corrected.

"Ah, yes, cockroaches," agreed Vikus. "In the Overland, they are but handfuls while here they grow largely."

"How do you know that?" Have you been to the Overland?" I asked. Then I realized how stupid my question was. Of course they didn't. If they did, they wouldn't be here.

"Oh, no, such visits are as rare as trees." Trees were rare down here. I made a mental note to that, keeping it in my brain archive. "It is the Overlanders who come at times to us. I have met six or seven. One called Fred Clark, another called Mickey, and most recently a woman known as Coco. What are you called, Overlander?" asked Vikus.

I softly grunted, making sure Vikus didn't hear it. I hated to repeat myself, but since the old man was so generous, I decided to let it slide. He kind of reminds me of my own grandfather. Stern, but kind. Vikus was more like the Underlander version of him; the formal type. "Ryan." Then I played my innocent look. "Where are the other Overlanders? I would love to meet them."

 _Oh great, now I sound like Vikus._ That formal attitude must've rubbed it off to me. I actually did want to meet them, but not for one might think. By 'meet', I meant 'kill', if they know my existence up there. If they don't, then good for them; their lives will be spared.

"Sadly, no. This is not a gentle place for Overlanders," said Vikus, his face darkening.

I nodded my head. "Yeah. So I've heard." Vikus raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Feeling the tension rising, again, I decided to change the subject, to the important stuff. "So, do anybody or anything else know of my being down here?"

"Every creature in the Underland knows you are here," was the reply. His statement felt rhetorical, so I decided to keep quiet, silently following him to the exit, which I'm pretty sure it was.

The old man turned to the exit of the stadium. Half a dozen pale, violet-eyed guards flanked two gigantic stone doors. It took their combined efforts to push the doors open a few feet and to allow Vikus and I to pass.

Once we walked past the doors, they closed immediately behind us. _Tight security,_ I noted. I followed Vikus down a tunnel lined with stone torches to a small arch filled with something dark and fluttery. Moths. Tiny black moths. So that was the thing I had passed through when I went in the stadium.

Vikus gently slid his hand into the insects. "These moths are a warning system peculiar to the Underland, I believe. The moment their pattern of flight is disturbed by an intruder, every bat in the area discerns it. I find it so perfect in its simplicity," he said. Then he vanished into the moths.

I put a finger into the curtain of wings before me. The moths gave way to it once I had touched one, unlike the demonstration of Vikus when he did it. Interesting. I walked through the door of moths, but not before crushing a moth when I was in. My hands were itchy to kill, so that action satisfied myself, if only a tiny bit. I flicked the moth to its others.

Vikus was standing there, patiently waiting for me; a proud smile creeping to his lips. "Ryan the Overlander, welcome to the city of-"

He didn't get to finish. He couldn't, actually, since a very high-pitched shriek wailed, interrupting his speech.

A speck of gray flew to us. Using echolocation, I 'saw' it being a large bat beating its wings quickly, as if it was being chased by someone or something. It landed in front of Vikus, panting in small short breaths.

"What is the matter, Euripedes?" Vikus asked the seemingly equally old bat. _Euripedes? The one from Greek mythology?_

The old bat had to take a few more breaths, before starting with, "Greetings, Vikus," in a purr. So all the creatures in the Underland _can_ talk. "I heard a disturbance with the moths. You were the closest to them. Did an intruder come-" He stopped talking and eyed at me. I gave him a raised eyebrow and a few blinks in return, acting innocent.

I saw its nose twitch, and I immediately knew it was observing me. Bats used echolocation like I do. So it was smelling, seeing and hearing me at the same time. It was a very good tactic to search a person.

When Euripedes was done, it looked very dumbfounded. It looked at the moths before doing so at Vikus. "I am sorry to disturb you, Vikus. I must have been mistaken. Perhaps I am getting old." he said, looking very apologetic.

"It is fine, Euripedes. What you did was for my safety." said Vikus. Am I being ignored? I hated that. I cleared my throat to distract their bonding session. Vikus turned to me; his face full of guilt. "I am sorry, Overlander. Shall we continue?" he offered.

"Go ahead."

"Thank you, Overlander. As I was saying, welcome, Ryan the Overlander, to the city of Regalia!" That was when I first noticed it, since I was too lazy to use echolocation. It was so beautiful.

The buildings were all misty gray, which gave them a dreamlike quality. They seemed to rise directly out of the rock as if they had been grown, not made by human hands. Although they weren't as tall as the skyscrapers I knew, some buildings were at least thirty stories and finished in artful peaks and turrets. Thousands of torches were placed strategically so that a soft, dusky light illuminated the entire city.

The carvings of the walls looked so precisely carved that I could've sworn seeing them crawling with life. People and cockroaches and fish and creatures I didn't know of fought and feasted and danced on every conceivable inch of space.

It felt like architecture haven. Mom would've loved this. She was an avid designer; this would've made her jealous and amazed at the same time.

"Do humans only live here, or with bats?" I asked, curious.

"This is a city of humans. The others have their own cities, or perhaps 'lands' might be a more accurate word," said Vikus. He sounded like he was narrating his own city. "The majority of our people live here, although some dwell in the suburbs, if their work so dictates. There stands our palace," said Vikus, directing my eye to a huge, circular fortress at the far edge of the valley. "There we are headed."

Vikus waved to me, mounting Euripedes on his neck. "Come, there is much to see." he said, lending a hand to me, offering me a lift on his gray bat. I accepted the offer, sitting right behind him, making sure my balance was right. I had rode a horse before, surely a bat should be the same or similar, at least.

Euripedes took off; its powerful wings beating slowly. I began to scan the area with my eyes to where I could see on the horizon; my ears for echolocation where my eyes couldn't see. It was even better seeing in a bird's eye view. The lights shining from the city's many windows gave it a festive look, causing me to think if there was any event that was going on down here. Maybe it was together with the game in the stadium. I decided to ask Vikus about it.

"No, there is no 'anything special going on', as you say it. This is what we always do." replied Vikus.

People stared openly at them from the windows as they passed. Vikus acknowledged a few, nodding or calling out a few names or so -none of which I cared about- and they'd raise their hands in greeting back.

"You hold great fascination for them," said Vikus, indicating the people in the windows. "We do not get many visits from the Overland."

"How did you know I came down here from New York?" I asked.

"There are but five known gateways to the Underland," said Vikus. "Two lead to the Dead Land, but you would never have survived those. Two gateways open into the Waterway, but your clothing is quite dry. You are alive, you are dry, from this I surmise you have fallen through the fifth gateway, the mouth of which I know to be in New York City."

The Dead Land, huh? Sounds like my kind of place. With lots of dead corpses and bones. Seems fit for a killer such as myself.

"Your fall coincided most favorably with the currents." Vikus continued. "They allowed you to arrive here in one piece. Timing is all. You would not be here if the timing was off. That, in truth, is the most common outcome for Overlanders."

So _that_ was the reason why my body became lighter. Thanks, currents.

As we approached the magnificent structure, I noticed that there was nothing carved in it. The sides were as smooth as glass, and the lowest window opened two hundred feet above the ground. Something was off. "Where's the door?" I asked.

"Doors are for those who lack enemies. Even the most accomplished climber cannot find a foothold here."

Euripedes, who had been silent all this while, dived to the lowest window. I instinctively tightened my legs on it, bracing. Before the window was a small, stone staircase. Euripedes landed softly on the platform of the staircase for both of us to unmount it and took off, but not before giving Vikus a low purr. Seriously, it acts more like a pet than, well... a bat.

We went inside a large room with vaulted ceilings. A group of three Underlanders, all with the same translucent skin and violet eyes, waited to greet us.

"Good late day," said Vikus, nodding to the Underlanders. "Meet you Ryan the Overlander, who have most recently fallen among us. Please bathe him and then proceed to the High Hall." Without a backward glance, Vikus strode out of the room.

None of them had Luxa's arrogance or Vikus's easy commanding presence, which was good, since I partly disliked both, in one way or another. They were normal people. Civilians.

 _Innocents_ , I couldn't help but think. _Innocents that had been in my way._ I was itching to kill them. The Rager was trying to control me. I could let it control me, but I didn't want to cause any trouble. I had tried genocide up there, so I wondered if being a pacifist down here works.

I looked at them in the eye. I saw curiousity, joy, a bit of hostility, and most of all: nervousness. Now that I look closer, they weren't normal people. They were soldiers. Guards to protect or kill me. What kind of person would have a muscular figure just to be a tour guide?

We could've had the staring competition for days if someone had never interrupted us.

"You would care for a bath?" a female voice asked. I looked behind the weaponless guards, where the source of the voice was. It was a young woman who looked about fifteen or so, leading two children to a doorway. One was about 3 years old and the other looked like 7 or 8.

The latter took a glance at me, turned her head to where I was standing and gasped, slowly hyperventilating.

She wasn't those Underlander kids with silver hair and pale skin. She had silky brown hair and creamy brown eyes.

She was an Overlander. An Overlander who supposedly knows of my being up there. And my new target.

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 **Yeah! Cliffhanger! Try to guess who the Overlanders are. As usual, please rate and review! Critics are welcome!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4! Woot woot!**  
 **Sorry for the one week delay. I was trying to enjoy myself during that week, since it's the holidays.**  
 **Fun Fact- I write my stories when I'm in public transport. Or when I'm bored.**  
 **Thank you Clytuis for reviewing! To answer your question: you are wrong. The Overlanders are not Ryan's sisters. The hint is in the description; see who are mentioned in it.**  
 **Disclaimer: I do not own TUC.**

* * *

She started to hyperventilate even more. _Oh come on. Please stop. I can only take one hyperventilating person per day._

She slowly rose her shaking finger at me and stammered, "Y-You!"

I decided to go for an aggressive and mocking tone. "Yes, me. What about me, little girl? Do I know you?"

The young Underlander lady turned to me, finally noticing that I was here. "Oh! Another Overlander!" she exclaimed, clearly surprised. "Greetings, Overlander. I am called Dulcet, a caretaker." She focused her attention to the spasmodic girl, kneeling down beside her. "What is wrong, Lizzie? Do you know that Overlander?"

"Y-you..." she continued, ignoring Dulcet, tears welling up in her eyes. Her next word was muffled by her inconsistent sobs. I knew what she wanted to say. She wanted to say 'killed'. I wonder who was she related to. She started crying, a word struggling to come out of her mouth. My question was being answered. "...Gregor!"

My lips broke into a grin. So it was him. The other Rager. The one I killed with my own two hands. The one who attacked me when I shot his mother. So he has sisters, huh? Quite the uncanny appearance.

I chose my next words very carefully. I didn't want the Underlanders to know what had transpired up in the Overland. "Gregor, huh... He was a good lad. A good challenge for me. But it's a shame he isn't here. I would've loved a second round." The Underlanders around us didn't say anything, only perplexed and confused expressions were written on their faces.

The youngest one spoke. "Ge-go?" She ran beside her sister, pulling her shirt. "Where Ge-go?" The legendary question.

Lizzie hugged her and softly wept, watering her shirt. "Boots, Gregor... Gregor is on vacation."

Dulcet, who seemingly was feeling awkward and uncomfortable, stood up and walked beside the unarmed guards. "I am sorry for my rudeness. Meet you Mareth and Perdita," said Dulcet, indicating the male and female soldiers next to her.

Mareth and Perdita both gave me formal, but friendly, nods.

Dulcet went back to where the crying child was and patted her on the back while carrying the baby called Boots. She wrinkled her nose and poked Boots gently in the tummy. "You have need of a clean catch cloth," she said.

I could guess what a catch cloth was. A diaper. "I poop!" said the toddler without apology, immediately forgetting about Lizzie and tugged on her diaper.

"I will attend to it," said Dulcet with an amused smile. She turned her head to me. "You will follow to the waters, Overlander?"

"Yes, yes I will." I replied. Lizzie sat on the even floor, hugging her legs while crying endlessly. _How pitiful,_ I thought. Not in a sympathetic way, of course. In a pathetic way.

Dulcet nodded and waited for me to fall in step beside her. Mareth and Perdita followed a few steps behind. Right before we went in the spacious hallway, I flashed a devilish smile to Lizzie. She noticed it with fear etched on her face.

Leaving the girl behind, we went in, passing by dozens of arched doorways that opened into large chambers, staircases, and halls. I took a mental photo, keeping it for later use.

Dulcet spoke. "You are the third Overlander I have seen today. I would not usually meet an important person as an Overlander," she said shyly.

Just then, we stopped at a doorway. I could hear water running, and steam wafted out into the hall. Must be the bathroom. I inhaled the steam. It smelt so fresh. But that freshness was quickly eradicated by the baby's foul stench. I almost gagged.

"I will take Boots, and you go in here," said Dulcet, indicating the right side of the room, which was divided by a wall. I almost rolled my eyes. Who doesn't know where the males and females go?

While I went to the right, I heard Boots shout, "Bye-bye, big bwother!" I smirked. Big brother, huh... I never had a sister before. My siblings only consisted of boys. I was the oldest among them.

Exotic sea creatures were carved into the walls, and oil lamps cast a golden glow. _What_. Even the _bathroom_ has carvings? These people must really like art.

Mareth followed me in. Perdita was no where to be seen, of course. He addressed me nervously. "This place is the changing room. Here are the rooms for relief and cleansing. Can I get you anything, Ryan the Overlander?"

"No. I can do fine on my own."

"We shall be in the hall if you have need," said Mareth. So Perdita was outside.

"Sure," I said. I explored the place. The relief room held only a solid stone chair with an opening cut in the middle. Looking inside, I saw water ran continuously in a stream underneath it. Must be the toilet.

The cleansing room had a small, steaming pool with steps that led down into the water. The same fragrant smell filled the air. The temptation to swim in there rose.

I went back to the changing room and stripped off my clothes and vest. After considering where I should put my weapon belt, I decided to put it below the cubicles. Then I hurried to the pool, diving in with a jump, not bothering to test the temperature. Hot water filled my whole body. My head popped out of the water, feeling refreshed as hell.

When I sat, the water only reached to my shoulders. So I rested my head on the bench around the pool; the water licking my ears.

Right when I did, I heard the clanking of metal. They must have found my belt. I used echolocation to check. Mareth was curiously checking out the weapon compartments on one hand while carrying my neatly folded clothes on the other.

"Hey!" I shouted. Mareth froze. "Don't touch my things!" I figured saying 'stuff' would confuse him, so saying 'things' was a good start. "Put them back where they belong!" Slowly but surely, Mareth placed my clothes in the cubicle and my belt under it and began to walk out. I didn't want to sound rude, so I added, "Thanks for folding my clothes, by the way!"

Mareth stopped his tracks and did a double take. He probably was confused on how I knew he folded my clothes. He shook his head and continued walking out the exit.

I leaned my head back to the bench. A current washed over me, releasing the knots on my shoulders and back. Man, the Overland really needs this. Well, we have hot springs in Japan, but that wasn't as close as what I was experiencing.

Wait, now that I was thinking about it, the Underlanders were very much like the Japanese up there. Polite speech? Check. A bath like hot springs? Check. No litter anywhere? Check.

I cut the surface of the pool with my hand, and the water ran through my fingers. Like the water in the toilet, it flowed in one end of the bath and out the other. How soothing.

I found a sponge and gloopy soap in a bowl by the pool and used them to scrub myself as clean as possible. Not one nanometer was left unscrubbed. Experience in the Overland taught me that even K-9 dogs could not detect you by smell if you mask your scent properly.

I got out of the pool once I was done and grabbed one of the many thick woven towels on a hook to dry myself. I examined the towels. It felt like silk but looked like cotton. It felt very familiar but I couldn't place it in my head. Damn my bad memories.

Walking back to the changing room, I saw my clothes and belt on the cubicles. Beside them was a white shirt, pants and underwear. Their materials looks the same as the towels, but much smoother when I wore them. It feels nice though.

On the floor was a pair of straw-braided sandals that wasn't too shabby. I slid into them and took my clothes and belt, and went to meet with Mareth and Perdita, who were waiting patiently outside.

"Good to see that my clothes are still intact," I commented, lifting my clothes with my left hand.

"We were supposed to burn them," said Mareth, a bit shaken.

"Oh? Why's that?"

"It is most dangerous to keep them," said Perdita, by way of explanation. "The ash carries no scent."

"Vikus already said that all creatures already knew that I'm here, so what's the point? Besides, I can take care of my own."

They shifted uncomfortably. "I will ask Vikus about it. It is our 'protocol', as what the Overlanders say," said Perdita.

Dulcet emerged from the left side of the bathroom carrying a squeaky clean Boots. She had on a soft, rose-colored shirt, and a clean diaper made from the same material as my bath towel. She extended her leg and pointed proudly to the new sandal on her foot. "San-da," she said to me.

"Yes, Boots. I can see that." The bodyguards eyed at me. My tone was probably too mean. Boots was too innocent to care.

Dulcet extended her arm to me; a black backpack strap on her hand. "This is for you, Overlander. For your belongings."

"Oh," I said, taking it and putting my clothes, vest and belt inside, carrying it. I barely carry any bags, since I prefer travelling light. Guess this is one of those times where I don't need to. "Thanks." She gave me a warm smile in return.

Dulcet led us up several staircases and through a maze of halls. We eventually wound up in a long room that opened out on to a balcony.

"We call this the High Hall," said Dulcet.

"Where's the roof?" I asked, looking up. _Wow, really!? They build a city and forget one goddamn roof. You are a freaking genius, other me._

Dulcet tried to stifle her chuckle. _Oh, now she's laughing at my stupidity. Thank you, idiot._ "Oh, no, it is meant to be so. We entertain here often, and many bats can arrive at once." No duh.

Vikus stood by the balcony with an older woman beside him. Both were waiting for us. The woman stood strong. I observed her. She looks like someone of general or commander status. A higher up.

"Ryan, Boots and..." Vikus looked behind us. "Where is Lizzie?" he asked.

"She's... taking it all in," I replied. It wasn't a lie.

Vikus took a while to answer. "Well then, Ryan and Boots the Overlanders, my wife, Solovet."

"Hello," I said, trying to be respectful. It was a start. Some of my moral values are still intact, surprisingly.

She offered both her hands to me. I took the offer, in which she said, "Welcome, Ryan. Welcome, Boots. It is an honour to have you among us."

"Hi, you!" said Boots, waving to Solovet on Dulcet's arms. Solovet reached up to pat her cheek.

"Vikus tells me you are very anxious to return home. It pains me that we cannot aid you immediately," she said. "The Underland buzzes with news of your arrival."

"I'm not _that_ anxious," I said. But I must've mumbled softly as Solovet looked at me, waiting for me to say something. "So what do I do now?"

Vikus waved me over to the low wall that ringed to the balcony. "Come, come, there is much to view," he said. I walked to him, taking in the view.

"Woah."

Regalia from this angle looked even better. The streets, which were paved in various shades of stone, were laid out in a complex geometric pattern so that the city looked like a giant mosaic. The palace extended out several miles each direction.

"How did all of this come about?" I couldn't help but ask.

Vikus laughed. "We are surprised it has taken you so long to ask. Well, it is a marvelous tale," said Vikus, taking a deep breath to begin it. Oh no. No no no... Not this kind of grandfather story. "Once many years ago lived -"

"Vikus," interrupted Solovet. "Perhaps the tale would go well with supper."

 _Supper? It's that late?_ I checked my watch. 10.44pm, it read. Wow, I've been here for 2 hours already. Time sure does fly when you least expected it.

"Of course," said Vikus. He and Solovet led me off the High Hall, while Mareth, Perdita and a Boots-carrying Dulcet walked behind me.

We went in a dining room with a table set for eight. After Dulcet was done tucking Boots in some sort of highchair, she backed up several feet from the table and stood.

Nobody took a seat -with the exception of Boots- so I didn't as well. _Who were we waiting for?_ I thought for a while before answering my own question. _Oh right, the Queen._

Soon she swept into the room in a dress that was a lot fancier than the clothes she'd worn in the stadium. Her hair was loose and fell like a shiny silver sheet to her waist. She was with a teenager boy that was laughing at something she said. I knew who he was. He was that cocky rider that got grazed by yours truly. Was he royalty as well?

The teen took a glance at me and gave me a friendly smile. But his eyes said it all. Hatred and shattered pride, with a hint of fear. So he _is_ afraid of me. So be it. The more the merrier, I guess.

"My cousin, Henry," said Luxa shortly. I wanted to laugh. Among these special names was an common name like Henry.

Henry gave me a low bow and went to his seat, but not before glaring at me for a few seconds. Two bats swooped in the room. One was Euripedes and the other was the golden bat Luxa was riding on in the stadium. Both went to their respective humans, then everyone sat.

"Ryan the Overlander, meet you Aurora and, as you know, Euripedes. They are bonded to Luxa and myself," said Vikus, extending a flexed hand to the gray bat on his right. Euripedes brushed his hand with his wing. Luxa and her golden bat Aurora performed the same exchange.

"Greetings, Overlander. We meet once more," said Euripedes in a soft purring voice.

"Hello again, Euripedes." I gave him a formal nod. I turned to ask Vikus. "What do mean, bonded? Is it like an alliance or a pact?"

"You are correct, Overlander," said Solovet. "Soon after we arrived in the Underland we humans formed a special alliance with the fliers, or bats, in your Overlander terms. Both sides saw the obvious advantages to joining together. But beyond our alliance, individual bats and humans may form their own union. That is called bonding."

"Ah, interesting." I folded my arms. "And what do you do when you bond with a bat?"

The room went quieter than the already silent atmosphere. Bonding must be a really serious thing.

"You keep each other alive," said Luxa coldly.

"Oh, that's..." I struggled to find a word that doesn't sound offensive. "...useful."

"It is," said Solovet, shooting a look at Luxa.

"And do you bond with others? A crawler, for example?"

Henry snorted with laughter. His broken pride and anger aimed towards me was replaced by disgust. "I would as soon bond with a stone. At least it could be counted on not to run away in battle."

Luxa broke into a grin. "And perhaps you could throw it. I suppose you could throw a crawler. . . ."

"But then I would have to touch it!" said Henry, and the two cracked up.

"The crawlers are not known for their fighting ability," said Vikus, by way of explanation to me. _Well, duh. Have you seen how they act in the Overland?_ Neither he nor Solovet were laughing. He turned to Luxa and Henry. "Yet they live on. Perhaps when you can comprehend the reason for their longevity you will have more respect for them."

Henry and Luxa attempted to look serious, although their eyes were still laughing away.

"It is of little consequence to the crawlers whether I respect them or not," said Henry lightly.

"It won't be when you finally realize it." I told Henry. Everyone turned their heads to me. "Cockroaches- I mean, crawlers have thrived for centuries. Think about it. It's a species much older than humans. No offence, but they have more knowledge than any of us combined. They might, and can, _annihilate_ you all, if they can't take anymore of your foolish jokes, whether you like it or not. They don't need to be fighters to shift the balance of power in the Underland."

I let that all sink in. Words can be a powerful thing. Vikus looked proud; Solovet was interested; Henry sulked, and Luxa was just glaring at me.

I gave her the same glare, clasping my hands while doing so. "So, _Queen_ ," I started. "What will _you_ be doing about that when you rule? Will you make the crawlers enemies or allies?"

That sobered up her for real. She didn't had the chance to answer -or maybe she didn't want to- as the food arrived. An Underlander servant placed a half circle of small bowls around me; a whole platter of grilled fish in front. At least three contained what looked like various types of mushrooms. One had a ricelike grain, and the smallest contained a handful of fresh greens. I could tell by the skimpy portion that it was supposed to be a big treat.

My hunger was represented by a low growl from my stomach. Oh right, I didn't eat for about 2 days. I stingily grabbed a small portion of each and every food and took a bite. It was really delicious. I had to resist the urge to wolf down my plate. I munched down four mushrooms before asking, "So, Vikus. Why didn't you tell me about Lizzie and Boots coming down here?"

"I am sorry, Ryan the Overlander. I had never known their being when you arrived."

"Oh. By the way, you were going to tell me about Regalia's history?"

"Ah, yes. In the 1600s of England, as what the Overlanders called it, the Underlanders were led here by a stonemason, one Bartholomew of Sandwich," said Vikus, and I almost choked.

I had to drink half a cup of water to stop my coughing. Vikus patiently waited. "Continue," I told him.

"He had visions of the future. He saw the Underland in a dream, and he set out to find it. Of course, he was quite sane. He knew that one day the earth would be empty of life except what was sustained beneath the ground."

Sandwich wasn't far off there. Humans up there were at each other's throats. Just a few more wars and then he would be correct.

"When did they go down?"

It was fifty years before the eight hundred were down and the gates to the Overland sealed. We had to know we could feed ourselves and have walls to keep us safe. Rome was not built in a day." Vikus laughed. "This was how Fred Clark the Overlander said it."

"Where is he now?" I bit my tongue. _Oh my god, you are such an idiot. Vikus already explained that when I was at the stadium! Weren't you paying attention?!_ The room went quiet once more.

"He died," said Solovet gravely. "He died without your sun." Of course he did. He was weak, unlike me.

Just then, an Underlander burst into the dining hall and stopped beside of Vikus, panting and wheezing heavily. "Lizzie... Lizzie is gone!"

I gulped down the fish I was eating and stood up. Lizzie had disappeared? I secretly grinned.

Perfect opportunity.

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 **Yay! Cliffhanger again! Please rate and review, with or without critics. Just so you know, Wattpad will be updated first, since Fanfiction won't let me post new chapters on a mobile device. :(**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, look! A new chapter! Ayyy!**  
 **Fun Fact: I love writing fight scenes!**  
 **Warning: This has a lot of blood in it. You have been warned. Proceed if you dare.**  
 **Disclaimer: Do I really need to repeat myself?**

"Begin a search immediately!" shouted Vikus.

Everyone scrambled out; riders on bats. Vikus offered me a lift on Euripedes, which I politely denied. "It's better if we split up to search," I told him. He understood and took off.

Now, back to my plan. If I was a crying girl, where would I run off to? Obviously outside the palace. I ran out of the palace, using echolocation to search while doing my trial and error.

 _The stadium? No, too obvious. The High Hall? No._ The thinking got my brain fried. _Ah, screw it._ I stopped running, closed my eyes and listened. Come on, surroundings. Give me a clue, any clues. I heard the stamping of feet, the crumble of rocks, and... a roar. Water. The Waterway!

I followed the sound of rushing water, equipping my weapon belt as I did. Assuming that the Waterway was a river, I descended down the stairs, trying to reach the lowest level.

Once I was there, I was surprised. The Waterway wasn't a river. They were rapids. There wasn't any boulders in it.

A creak distracted my observation of the Waterway. I turned to the source. There she was, trying to carefully climb into the many boats, which were made out of some kind of skin stretched over a frame. She didn't notice my presence.

I crept behind her and clamped my hand over her mouth. She froze with a stifled 'mmph!'. I tossed her into the boat and stood behind her; my hands behind my back. The lamp in front of the boat illuminated her face, which was filled with fear. She placed her hand on a metal wheel that was affixed to the docks. "Go on," I told her, sitting down and leaning on a side of the boat. "Give it a good pull. You wanted this to happen. I won't stop you."

She gave the wheel a yank, causing it to creak loudly and made the boat fall straight to the Waterway. The momentum knocked her rear end to the floor.

The current swept up the boat like a dried leaf. Lizzie grasped the sides of the boat, trying to hang on as we plunged into the unknown darkness.

"So," I started, saying it loud enough so that she can hear, crossing my legs. "How did you know that I was the one who killed your brother?"

She wasn't hyperventilating this time. "Police evidence. Eye witnesses." She tried to stop her overflowing tears. "Why did you kill him!? He was innocent!"

I rolled my eyes to the back of my skull. It was that word again: _Innocent_. How I despised that word.

"Innocent, you say? I don't know if the cops had told you this, but he attacked me first." _Oh my god! Will you stop it!? I sound like a kid trying to find an excuse to get away! Just shut up for one hour!_

Iswear I could hear my other self replying: _Fine. One hour. That's all you got._

"He was trying to do the right thing! By stopping _you_!" She pointed her small finger at me, accusing me.

I loudly sighed, both from the stupid ideology that she had and the relief of my alter ego not disturbing me. "Look, little girl. There is no right or wrong. It's survive or die. Simple, right? I just killed your big brother Gregor for survival. You never know when they might come back for revenge when you least expected it. It's not that complex."

She wanted to argue back, but the boat rocked, forcing her to bite her own tongue. Blood leaked out of her mouth and she tried to lick it away and wipe it off.

I continued. "Well, there is one other reason why I killed Gregor..." She looked at me, anticipating for my next slur of words. She didn't glare in anger. Well, not really, since I could see a tinge of hate in her eyes. But she stared with curiousity. She was smart after all.

Unfortunately for her, I couldn't say any more, since my echolocation had picked up land up ahead, which led to a dark tunnel. I stood up and scanned my surroundings. A glittering beach was at the left flank. I grabbed the oars and pedaled the boat to it. It was easy to go forward, but very difficult to stop.

I found myself struggling to lower the boat's quick speed. I gave up on it and held Lizzie by the arm, getting ready for the impact.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" She tried to struggle free, but failed miserably, taking hold of the lamp.

"Shut up, kid. I'm trying to concentrate here. Here it comes!"

Once the boat made impact with the beach, I flung her and myself to it; I landed perfectly on my feet while she landed sprawling on the ground in front of me. She quickly recovered and made a break for it to the tunnel. I slowly chased after her, thinking that I had more than enough time to kill her.

Just then, I 'saw' two figures at the mouth of the tunnel. The enemies. Two rats. Lizzie was heading straight for them.

"Tch." I took one of my throwing knives and threw it towards her, wanting to end her life quickly. At least, that was my intention, but the sand on the beach where I was standing sank a little. That was more than enough to falter my throw. The result was a wobbly flying knife traveling just above her shoulder, plopping down in front of one of the giant rats.

Lizzie did a short squeal and fell headfirst to the ground, right behind the knife. I walked and stood a few feet beside her. She wasn't moving. She probably fainted or something. Good, then I don't have to listen to her screaming.

The rat at the front broke into a smile. "Ah, here you are at last," said the rat idly. "By your reek we expected you ages ago. Look, Fangor, he has brought the pup."

The second rat popped its nose over the first rat's shoulder. "What a tidbit she is," said Fangor in a smooth, rich voice. I held back my disgust. I hated people with that kind of voice.

"I would like the boy to myself, Shed." Fangor's nose quivered. "This one had fish for supper. Mushrooms, grains, and just a bit of leaf. Now that's flavorful, you must admit, Shed."

I ignored their casual blabber of eating me and observed them. Sitting back on their haunches, they were a good six feet tall, and their limbs bulged with muscle under their gray fur, together with their six-inched incisors that protruded out of their whiskered mouths.

 _This will be easy_ , I concluded, equipping a dagger on my hand while taking an attacking stance. _One dagger is all I need._

" _Oh?_ We have a fighter in our midst, Shed. Will you satisfy the boy to his needs?" asked Fangor, giving space to Shed, gesturing to me.

"No," I spoke up. "Come at me, both of you."

Fangor and Shed laughed. "He speaks!" said Shed. "What a treat! Usually we get nothing but shrieks and whimpers! Tell us, Overlander, what makes you so brave?"

"I just am," I said, shrugging.

"I like him, Shed!" howled Fangor.

"I like him, too!" chocked Shed. "The humans are commonly most dreary. Say we keep him, Fangor."

"Oh, Shed, how is that to be? It would entail much explaining, and besides, all this laughter gives me hunger," said Fangor.

"And me," said Shed. "But you must agree, to eat such amusing prey is a great pity."

"A great pity, Shed," said Fangor. "But without remedy. Shall we?"

And with that, both rats bared their teeth and moved in on me. I grabbed both snouts and forcefully slammed both of their mouths shut with my knees. Shed lost a tooth while Fangor escaped my grip before it could lose one. Shed was too busy howling in pain to bother assisting Fangor.

"Useless!" hissed Fangor to Shed, before charging at me once more. My adrenaline was pumping. No no no! Keep it down! I want to kill him _without_ using my Rager powers! It's too weak to deal damage to me!

My Rager died down, before Fangor launched a fury of claw attacks, all of which I deflected easily. This was so much easier than the bullet rain! But I wanted a challenge.

I stopped his attacks by holding both his paws and kicking him back to Shed, who was standing up and rubbing his chin.

"Come at me, _both_ of you," I repeated. "Give me all you got."

"Fangor, he plays with us. Think you he levels with Ripred?"

"He is not if we kill him!" Fangor growled, and both of them lunged for my throat. I swiped my arm, slashing Fangor's eye and Shed's stomach. Blood spurted out of their injuries, staining my dagger.

"Come on! Is that the best you can do?!" I taunted. A battlecry and a sound of blade against claw was the answer. Fangor had attacked with his claws and teeth, while Shed ran to my back, trying to get to my blind spot.

 _A pincer attack, huh? How unoriginal._ I shifted my position while Fangor was busy engaging me and stomped Shed down to the ground when he was in mid-leap.

"This is so not fun," I groaned. Fangor stopped swiping at me and started to circle around me. "Fangor, use more of your claws. Your arm strength is better than Shed's. Do try to trick your enemy better; your swipes are so predictable. Aim for my limbs." I looked down to Shed. "Shed, use your teeth more. Your snapping power can easily tear out a head or two. Try to assassinate by not doing big movements. Aim for my neck and joints."

I lifted my leg and kicked him away, letting Shed to temporarily retreat to Fangor. "Do not tell us what to do, Overlander." Fangor hissed, twitching his paws. "You are not our general."

I sighed. People just don't want to learn. For this instance, rats. "Alright then, it's your funeral. I'll just give you two one more advantage, to even out the odds as much as possible." I slotted my dagger back to its compartment. "There. This should be fairer."

They were still circling around me. "Well, what are you waiting for? I don't have all day!"

They simultaneously attacked again, using the same pincer attack. But there were a few changes. Fangor was slashing more aggressively while Shed was snapping away, inching closer to my neck. They were slowly breaking my defence. Very slowly.

"That's more like it!" I shouted, blocking their efforts by only attacking the furry parts of their bodies, now using echolocation. Fangor tried to trip me by pulling my ankle with his tail, but my legs were stronger. I pulled my wrapped leg to his back paws, stepping on one of them.

He screamed in pain, causing Shed's ears to be strained, if only a split second. I used that distraction to plunge my fist into his slightly-open stomach, fatally injuring him. He crumbled to his knees, gasping for air.

I grabbed Fangor's tail with my free hand and slammed him onto the ground. The force of it snapped its tail. Fangor went from screaming in pain to howling in agony.

"My tail!" cried Fangor. He kept repeating that line.

"Oh, will you shut up!" I placed my hand on his neck and squeezed it, suffocating him. His inconsistent cries softened, but not silenced. I was going to do it. "Happy screaming," I whispered in his ear before tearing his throat out. There was a few gurgles before he fell limp on the ground, dead.

"Alright. Next one." I turned to Shed, who was coughing up blood and clutching his blood-filled tummy. I stood in front of him and asked, "Any last words?"

"Overlander," he gurgled, looking up to me, "we hunt you to the last rat."

"Good, that will be more worth than two amateur rats," I replied. And with that, I tore his stomach fully open; his insides spilling out. He squeaked and shrieked, trying to bear the unbearable pain. He didn't last longer than ten seconds.

I went to Lizzie and tried to kick her awake. "Hey, wake up. I want to kill you awake." Soft mumbling was the reply. It wasn't my style to kill someone while they are asleep or unconscious. I either wake them up or wait. The usual was the former.

I didn't want to wait any longer. I turned her over so that her back was on the ground and punched her square on the chest. It wasn't enough to kill her, but it was a good way to defibrillate her heart, using the shock of the body.

True enough, she started to cough and sputter. "What was that for!?"

"To wake you up. Go on, stand up. Defend yourself from me." I handed her the throwing knife that I had missed. "Attack me. You want vengeance for your brother, right? Then go ahead."

She stood up, held the knife in shaking hands and pointed it to me. Then she dropped it. "No. I won't do it."

"And here I thought you were smart. Well then," I said, cracking my knuckles. She slowly backed off. "Time to dirty my hands again." I picked up the knife she dropped and rushed towards her, going in for the kill.

But then, my echolocation picked up many flying figures heading straight for the beach. Bats. With humans riding them. They found us, at the wrong time. If I could hear them, so can the bats, and they had a wider range for their echolocation.

I quickly kept the knife to where it belonged. "You got lucky, kid. Next time you won't have any." I left her thinking as I waved to the bats. They sped up, quickly landing on the beach.

Mareth, Perdita, Luxa and Henry were the ones who found us. Just my luck. Mareth came bolting to me as his bat hit the ground and asked, "What happened, Overlander?"

I didn't want to answer since my mouth was running dry. All that talk must've shriveled it. I hadn't drunk anything in the dining room, only ate. So by responding, I eyed at the tunnel, where a pair of dead bodies were.

He followed my gaze and looked surprised as he saw the corpses. "Did you do that?"

I answered with a short nod. He went to the carcasses and began to drag them to the river, carrying their bodies away. The heavy blood loss of their bodies leaked in the river, making a part of it red.

I heard the other bats beating their wings and stopping behind me. Two horrified gasps came out of Luxa's and Henry's mouths. The rats were their enemies, but I don't think they had seen someone or something ripped apart before. Guess they didn't have the experience.

Mareth hurdled onto his bat's back and signalled me to do the same. I silently complied, hopping onto his bat. Luxa threw the boat lamp on the ground, smashing it.

After all of the bats ascended, Mareth gave an order. "Scorch the land!" yelled Mareth. Henry threw his torch to the beach, setting it ablaze.

The burst of flames forced my eyes to blink. I then realised how tired I was. We started to head back to Regalia.

"Hey, Mareth?"

"What is it, Overlander?"

"You got anything I can use to wipe this?" I raised up both my hands, showing him the fresh blood of the rats.

Mareth rummaged through his small bag. He found a cloth and handed it to me. "Thanks," I said, wiping off the sticky blood, giving it back once done.

I removed the backpack from my shoulders and placed it behind my head, using it as a pillow.

It wasn't long before I slept soundly.

 **Alrighty! That's it! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I made sure there was a lot of bloodshed. Get it? Blood, Shed? No? Ok. Please rate and review! Critics are much welcomed.**


	6. Chapter 6

**One chapter coming up! *ding***  
 **Fun Fact: I do this because it's fun.**  
 **Disclaimer: I wish.**

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"Wake up, Overlander," said Mareth. I instantly opened my eyes.

"What?"

"We are here."

I looked up ahead. A group of Underlanders were waiting on the dock. Once the bats landed, Mareth tied my hands behind my back. I allowed it to happen. After all, I killed two rats singlehandedly without any weapons. I was that dangerous.

"I am sorry, Overlander. This is our customs," apologized Mareth. A guard joined him. I didn't care.

He lead me to many flights of stairs before entering a large diamond-shaped room. There was a table in the middle of it. Mareth lightly pushed me down on a stool by a roaring fireplace. The two guards stepped back a couple of paces and watched me.

People were hurrying past the door, talking in excited voices. Some peered in at me, but no one came in. Good. I didn't want any big attention.

Just then, Luxa arrived. She crossed the room and grabbed a chair, sitting down and facing me. Her mouth was itching to ask questions. "What happened, Ryan the Overlander? What did you do in the tunnel?" she blurted.

"I killed the rats. You can ask Mareth." I told her matter-of-factly. _Didn't she see the dead bodies? What did she think I was doing? Dancing?_

"I know that. I want to know what makes Lizzie so frightened."

"She saw the dead rats and fainted." I convincingly lied. "She was probably scared of me." I shrugged.

"How did you fight them?"

"Pure skill," I said, grinning away.

She was about to ask another question, but was interrupted by the sound of an open door. Vikus and a shaken Lizzie walked in the room.

"Vikus," greeted Luxa, shortly bowing her head.

"Luxa," greeted back Vikus. "Both gnawers are dead?"

"Dead and in the river," said Luxa. "We scorched the land."

Vikus looked at me. "What did the Overlander, Luxa? Fight or flee?"

"He fought, with 'pure skill', as he says it." Lizzie looked at me incredulously. I gave her a mental 'shush'.

"Then he has much courage," said Vikus.

I did a short laugh. "Courage, you say? What does bravery have to do with fighting rats?"

Vikus didn't answer my question. "Unleash his hands and leave us," he told the guards.

One of the guards used a blade to slice the ropes on my wrists. I moved my fingers and hands to check my blood circulation as the guards left the room.

"Gather us here," said Vikus, sitting at the table.

"Give me a moment," I said, standing up to crack my stiff bones. Luxa and Lizzie went to take a seat next to each other. After much cracking and flexing, I sat one seat away from Luxa.

Vikus began, "Lizzie the Overlander, there is much you do not understand. You do not speak, but your face speaks for you. You are worried. You are angered. You believe you were right to flee those who kept you against your will. We told you not of the rats. We seem to be your enemy, and yet we gave you time."

Lizzie didn't answer. She fidgeted her fingers and squirmed on the seat. There was a moment of silence.

"Can I have some tea?" I asked Vikus, breaking the silence. My water rations in my vest were out since the shootout.

"Of course, Ryan the Overlander," said Vikus, signaling an Underlander servant, who immediately rushed off once the order was given. Another silence ensued.

"Both parents of Luxa were killed by rats," Vikus said suddenly, to no one in particular. _Woah, old man. I didn't need to know that._

Luxa gasped. "That is not their affair!"

"What does that has to do with anything?" I questioned.

"But I make it so, Luxa, as I have cause to believe that Ryan may himself lack a father." continued Vikus.

"Um, what? My father is alive up there, you know." What did Vikus mean? My father was doing fine in the Overland, being 'protected' by police.

"But, the proph-" But Luxa was cut off by Vikus. I raised an eyebrow. _Proph? Prophet? Profit? Prophecies?_ I had the feeling that it was the latter.

"Tell me, Ryan the Overlander, recognize you this?" Vikus reached in his cloak and pulled out a key chain.

It looked like a normal key chain, with a roughly braided loop of red, black, and blue leather as a decoration. I shook my head. But to Lizzie, it was something else. I could see her face in remembrance; the memories flooding back to her.

Her hand shakily grasped the key chain, hugging it like some kind of holy trinket. It was after a few seconds before she finally spoke. "It belongs to my dad."

She began to weep happily. I rolled my eyes. _Oh boy, here comes the waterworks. Can she ever stop crying?_ "Gregor made this…" she softly said.

 _Oh, so that's why._

"Your father?" Luxa's eyes widened, and a strange expression crossed her face. "Vikus, you do not think she-"

"I do not know, Luxa. I do not know."

She turned to Lizzie, her violet eyes quizzical with doubt.

"Your father, like you, was desperate to return home. With much difficulty we persuaded him to stay some weeks, but the strain proved too great and one night, also like you, he slipped away," said Vikus. "The rats reached him before we did."

The colour of Lizzie's face instantly drained. She began to hyperventilate. _Oh my god, not again._ "S-so, he's dead?"

"So we assumed. But then came rumor the rats had kept him living," said Vikus. "Our spies confirm this regularly."

"He's alive?" asked Lizzie, a tinge of hope came rushing to her. Vikus was about to explain when Lizzie stopped him. "Wait, don't tell me he's making weapons for them?"

Vikus smiled sadly. "You are correct, Lizzie. It is hard to imagine what any of us would do in the caves of the rats," said Vikus gently. "To keep sanity must be a struggle, to keep honor a Herculean feat. I am not judging your father, only seeking to explain why he survives so long."

Just then, the tea arrived. The Underlander placed it in front of me before exiting quickly. I took a sip.

Vikus waited for the Underlander to leave before continuing. "They cannot make tools or weapons. They are masters of destruction, but creation evades them."

 _That's interesting._ I jotted down what Vikus said about rats mentally, not caring about her father.

Vikus and Luxa exchanged a look. "We must tell them, Luxa."

"What about Boots? What of her?" she asked.

"What?" asked Lizzie frantically. "What _about_ Boots?"

Vikus rose from the table. "Come," he said, and headed out the door. I was awfully curious as to what was going on, so after gulping down the rest of the cup of water, I eagerly followed. Lizzie walked behind me.

Luxa and I got to the door at the same time. "After you, Your Majesty." I bowed to her, gesturing the door, giving her an innocent smile.

She glanced at me sideways before following Vikus.

In the hall, we passed Underlanders who broke into whispers once they saw us. I could hear what they were saying but didn't bother to listen. It wasn't long before Vikus stopped at a polished wooden door, with Mareth and Perdita standing guard. It was the first wooden thing I saw in the Underland. If trees were rare down here -as what Vikus said when we were on Euripedes- then where did they get them?

I didn't had time to ask before Vikus pulled out a key and unlocked the door, taking the torch from the hall and leading the way in.

We stepped in the room, which had carvings on every surface. Walls, floors and even ceilings. But these carvings weren't creatures, they were tiny chiseled words.

"Wow! Are all of these prophecies?" asked Lizzie excitedly.

Vikus looked impressed. "Yes, they are, Lizzie. These are the prophecies of Bartholomew of Sandwich. Once we sealed the gates, he devoted the rest of his life to recording them."

"Interesting. Are all of them true?" I asked Vikus.

"We do not know. Some we have not yet unraveled," admitted Vikus.

"He foretold my parents' end," said Luxa sorrowfully, running her fingers over a part of the wall. "There was no mystery in that."

Vikus put his arm around her and looked at the wall. "No," he agreed softly. "That was as clear as water."

"But there is one that hangs most heavily over our heads. It is called 'The Prophecy of Gray,' for we know not whether it be fair or foul," said Vikus. "We do know that it was to Sandwich the most sacred and maddening of his visions. For he could never see the outcome, although it came to him many times."

Vikus gestured to a small oil lamp that illuminated a panel of the wall. It was the only light in the room besides the torch. Was this the one they were talking about?

"Will you read?" asked Vikus to Lizzie.

"Me?"

"Yes, Lizzie."

She approached the panel while I followed her closely. The prophecy was written like a poem, in four parts. Some of the lettering was odd, but I could make it out. I knew she could too as she began to read aloud.

BEWARE UNDERLANDERS, TIME HANGS BY A THREAD.

THE HUNTERS ARE HUNTED, WHITE WATER RUNS RED.

THE GNAWERS WILL STRIKE TO EXTINGUISH THE REST.

THE HOPE OF THE HOPELESS RESIDES IN A QUEST.

AN OVERLAND WARRIOR, A SON OF THE SUN,

MAY BRING US BACK LIGHT, HE MAY BRING US BACK NONE.

BUT GATHER YOUR NEIGHBORS AND FOLLOW HIS CALL

OR RATS WILL MOST SURELY DEVOUR US ALL.

TWO OVER, TWO UNDER, OF ROYAL DESCENT,

TWO FLIERS, TWO CRAWLERS, TWO SPINNERS ASSENT.

ONE GNAWER BESIDE AND ONE LOST UP AHEAD.

AND EIGHT WILL REMAIN WHEN WE COUNT UP THE DEAD.

THE LAST WHO WILL DIE MUST DECIDE WHERE HE STANDS.

THE FATE OF THE EIGHT IS CONTAINED IN HIS HANDS.

SO BID HIM TAKE CARE, BID HIM LOOK WHERE HE LEAPS,

AS LIFE MAY BE DEATH AND DEATH LIFE AGAIN REAPS.

Lizzie stopped reading. I pretty much knew what was going on in the prophecy, but wanted to extract more information out of it. So I asked Vikus to explain.

"It calls for a journey, not just of humans but of many creatures, which may lead either to salvation or ruin. The journey will be led by an Overlander." Nevermind, I already knew all of that.

"Which one of us will be the one leading?" I asked Vikus, my tongue loose like a dog. _Aw crap, he's back. Was it one hour already? Dammit. You're asking the obvious, dumbass. It says it right there. Me._

"I believe he is already here," said Vikus, facing me.

But those words brought pride and joy to myself. Me? Lead? I had never lead others before, only myself. I had some chances in the Overland to be a leader, but I turned them down as I didn't want anybody to slow me down, thus the solo up there.

But this was a big opportunity. Whoever who are going to follow me on this quest had to listen to be, no questions asked.

Lizzie was about to say something when I cut her off. "This is great and all, but can I go to sleep?" I instinctively yawned. "I'm really tired. This warrior needs some rest."

"Of course, Ryan." Vikus rapped his finger on the wall, making Mareth and Perdita immediately come in the prophecy room. "Bring them to their rooms." Mareth lead me to my room while Perdita lead Lizzie to hers.

Our rooms were just next to each other. I guessed that these rooms were specially for Overlanders.

Once I was in, I tossed my bag to one part of the room and dived straight onto the bed, slowly drifting off to sleep. "Sleep well, Overlander," said Mareth, and closed the door.

I heard a curtain being pulled open and sprang to my feet, ready to defend myself. I looked around. Mareth was standing in the doorway. I lowered my guard. "Oh, it's just you."

"Ryan the Overlander, the council requests your presence," he said. "If you make haste, you may wash and eat first."

"Got it," I said, and began to do a series of stretches to circulate my blood.

I hurriedly bathed and dressed in fresh clothes. Mareth led me to a small room where a meal was laid out, then stood watch at the door.

I sat and looked at the food. On the table was bread, butter and a mushroom omelette with the same tea I had drank last night. I wolfed and drank it all down.

"Are you ready to face the council?" asked Mareth, seeing my empty plate.

"Let's go," I said, springing up and following Mareth.

We went to a room off the High Hall, where the council was. It consisted of a dozen Underlanders, all sitting around a round table. Lizzie was with Luxa again.

Once I was seated, Vikus introduced the people around the table. They all had ridiculous names that I immediately didn't care for. The council began to ask me stupid questions that wasn't even that important. I answered some of them truthfully, but others like what I did in the Overland and what job did I take were left unsaid.

The council scribbled down my words like it was a testimony or something.

But after awhile, they stopped writing and began to argue among themselves. I knew they were talking about the prophecy.

"Can we get on with this? You guys should already know that I'm the warrior. And Lizzie is the second Overlander following me."

"What of the young Boots?" chipped in one of the council members.

"What _of_ her? We can leave her here with Dulcet. Any more questions?" More chattering.

Finally, Vikus rapped on the table for order.

"Members of the council, we must decide. Here sits Gregor the Overlander. Who counts him the warrior of 'The Prophecy of Gray'?"

Ten of the twelve raised their hands. Luxa kept her hands on the table. Either she didn't think he was the warrior or she wasn't allowed to vote.

I didn't really care which.

"We believe you to be the warrior," said Vikus. "If you call us to help you regain your father," Vikus glanced at Lizzie. "Then we answer your call."

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever. As long as I'm going."

Suddenly, a bat veered through the doorway and crashed onto the table, silencing everyone. A ghostly woman slumped over the bat, pressing her hands to her chest to stem the flow of blood. It wasn't fatal yet, but it soon will.

One of the bat's wings folded in, but the other extended at an awkward angle, clearly broken.

"Anchel is dead. Daphne is dead. The rats found Shed, Fangor. King Gorger has launched his armies. They come for us," gasped the woman.

Vikus caught the woman as she collapsed. "How many, Keeda?" he asked.

"Many," she whispered. "Many rats." And she went unconscious.

"Sound the alarm!" shouted Vikus, and the place exploded in frantic activity. The first thing I heard after that was the horns being blown. I knew that sound.

It was the sound of war.

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 **Done! Phew, I wanted to write this chapter fast for the next, since there's no threats and action. We'll be seing one of them in the next chapter. I hope.**  
 **Rate and review! Whatever you knew!**  
 **Critic if you want, but I know you can't. Or do it anyway, I don't really care either way.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Finally. I can start this chapter. There's a bit of trash talk in here and a mini-fight scene.**  
 **Fun Fact- My chapters *should* be published per week. Sorry for the long delay. My house was in renovation and I had no computer to upload the chapters. :(**  
 **Disclaimer- Shouldn't you know already?**  
 **I decided to make this a two-in-one chapter, to faster proceed to the introduction of Ripred.**

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People rushed in and out, bats swooped in for orders and disappeared again without taking the time to land.

Everyone forgot about me as they shifted into emergency mode. The old man stood in the High Hall in a blur of bat wings giving commands.

I wanted to see. I ran to the balcony and saw a swarm of people rushing to the rats. The rats. They were like a tidal wave. I excitedly watched the two forces clash; the sound of battle rhythmic to my ears. I fought in one before and I knew the feeling of being sent into the battlefield, seeing bloodied corpses all around once it was done.

As I focused on one of the rats fighting a Regalian soldier, a strong hand patted my shoulder. Looking back, it was Vikus. "Ryan the Overlander, prepare yourself, for we leave shortly," said Vikus.

"Where?" I asked.

"To rescue the father of Lizzie," he said, gesturing to Lizzie, who was standing alone in front of the crowd.

I didn't had time to roll my eyes. "I know that. I mean the former. When you said I had to prepare myself."

Vikus thought for a second and called Mareth over. "Take them to the museum, let them choose whatever they thinks may aid them on the journey. Ah, here is the delegation from Troy!" said Vikus, stepping into another storm of wings.

Mareth sprinted to the door. I followed, carrying Lizzie by her shirt as I go. She didn't resist this time.

Three staircases and several halls later we arrived at a large chamber filled with loaded shelves.

"Here is that which has fallen from the Overland. Remember what you choose you must carry," instructed Mareth, thrusting a leather bag with a drawstring into Lizzie's hands, after seeing my large backpack.

Lizzie grabbed a flashlight and lots of batteries that can fit in them. She also put on a construction hat, which had a built-in light on top, and checked the power. It was still working. She was about to leave when she spotted a slightly dented root beer. She hesitated for a while before carefully stuffing it in her bag.

 _Really? A root beer?_ I did my own searching, trying to find anything useful to me. But all I saw were useless junk like baseballs, bats, tires and clocks. I went further down the shelf and saw many sharp objects, such as a chainsaw, an axe and a pickaxe. Unfortunately for me, they were all too heavy and inconvenient. This was all just a waste of time.

"We must go!" ordered Mareth, and ran before we could say anything. Lizzie lifted her hand in the air, fully expecting me to hold it. Damn, the girl's smart.

I took it and flung her over and onto my back, jogging to keep up with Mareth. It felt weird, to have someone other than something getting a shoulder ride from me.

In the High Hall, the mission was readying for departure. Several bats had lit on the ground and were being loaded with supplies.

I saw Henry embracing a ridiculously thin girl goodbye. She was weeping uncontrollably despite his futile attempts to comfort her.

"The dreams, brother," she sobbed, "they have worsened. Some terrible evil awaits you."

 _Did she mean me? I hope she did._

"Do not distress yourself, Nerissa, I have no plans to die," said Henry soothingly. It sounded disgusting.

"There are evils beyond death," said his sister. "Fly you high, Henry. Fly you high." They hugged, and Henry swung up onto his velvety black bat.

The lanky girl toughened up while walking up to me and handed me a small scroll. "For you, Overlander," she said. "Fly you high." Not waiting for a reply, she moved away, using the wall for support.

I opened it and what I saw was "The Prophecy of Gray" carefully written. I tossed it up to Lizzie, who clumsily caught it and put it in her bag.

"How did she know that I wanted it?" she wondered aloud.

"Nerissa knows many things. She has the gift," said Luxa, beside her golden bat. Her hair was cropped off close to her head.

"The gift of what, exactly?" I asked her.

She took a moment to answer. "She sees what we do not: the future, as believed."

I laughed. "So she's pretty much the second Sandwich, then."

Henry joined in the conversation. "Yes. Rumors believe it so. But her visions are not as strong as Sandwich." he said. Luxa was eyeing the hard hat Lizzie was wearing. I knew she was itching to try it.

Lizzie noticed her gaze and offered her the hat. "It's a hard hat, with a light," Lizzie said matter-of-factly.

"How do you keep the light inside without air? Does it not get hot on your head?" she asked, popping the hat on her head.

"It's electricity. There's a layer of plastic between the light and your head." I felt as if I was in a lecture room.

"Vikus has told me of electricity," she said. She shot the beam of light around the room before returning it to Lizzie reluctantly. "Here, you must save your fuel."

"You will begin a new fashion," said Henry cheerfully. He grabbed one of the small stone torches off the wall and laid it on top of his head. "What think you, Luxa?" he asked, showing her his profile with exaggerated haughtiness.

"Your hair is alight!" she suddenly gasped and pointed. Henry dropped the torch and beat at his hair as Luxa went into hysterics.

Realizing it was a joke, Henry caught her in a headlock and rubbed her short hair with his knuckles while she laughed helplessly.

I was about to comment in their childishness when Vikus strode across the hall. "You two are in a merry mood, considering we are at war," he said with a frown as he vaulted onto his bat.

"It is only an excess of spirit, Vikus," said Henry, releasing Luxa.

"Save your spirit- you will have need of it where we are going. Ride you with me, Ryan, Lizzie," said Vikus, extending a hand. I swung up behind him on Euripedes, while Lizzie got off my shoulders and sat beside me.

"Mount up!" called Vikus, and Henry and Luxa leaped onto their bats. I saw Solovet and Mareth also preparing to leave.

"To the air!" ordered Solovet, and the five bats lifted off in a V formation. Ah, the typical V formation. Overused, but effective as always.

As we veered sideways over the city of Regalia, everyone was being evacuated. The gates to the stadium were being fortified with huge stone slabs. Wagons of food clogged the roads. People carrying children and bundles were hurrying toward the palace. Extra torches were being lit in all quarters, so the city looked almost bathed in sunlight.

I knew the humans needed light themselves. Rats could detect others by smell and acute hearing. Roaches can sense their surroundings by their antennas, I guessed. Bats can use their echolocation. Humans had none of those aspects.

Except for me, of course. I had echolocation together with sensitive hearing. Very useful down here.

When we passed the farmlands, Lizzie asked Vikus a question. "What runs those lamps?" she asked, pointing at the white hanging lamps.

"They burn with gas from the earth. Your father was most impressed with our fields. He suggested a plan for lighting our city, too, but at the moment, all light must go for food," said Vikus. Lizzie nodded understandably at that information.

Solovet flew parallel to them, but she was deep in conversation with a pair of bats that had joined the party. She uncurled a large map on her bat's back and scrutinized it.

"What plan is she going to use?" I eagerly asked Vikus.

"She is forming a plan of attack," said Vikus. "My wife leads our warriors. She goes with us not to direct the quest but to gauge the level of support we may expect from our allies."

"What status is she? And who's in charge here?"

"Solovet is the general of the Regalia army. Luxa will ascend the throne when she turns sixteen. Until then Regalia is ruled by the council. I am but a humble diplomat who spends his spare time trying to teach prudence to the royal youth. You see how well I succeed," Vikus said wryly. He glanced at Henry and Luxa, who were flipping wildly in the sky trying to knock each other off their bats. "Do not let Solovet's gentle demeanor fool you. In the planning of battles, she is more cunning and wily than a rat."

I nodded. "I can tell already."

Lizzie took out and unfolded the small scroll Nerissa for us to see. "Can you explain this "Prophecy of Gray" to us?" I gave her a look. "I mean, me."

I folded my arms and laid down on Euripedes. I was skeptical about the whole 'visionary' thing. I had my fair share of meeting fortune tellers and they always tell me the same thing over and over. Fame, wealth, danger, blah blah blah. They were all stuff that life gives you.

Oh well. Might as well go for an adventure to fulfill a dead man's writings. I couldn't remember all of the lines, though.

"What of it puzzles you?" questioned Vikus.

"Let's just analyze it one stanza at a time."

She began to read the first line.

BEWARE UNDERLANDERS, TIME HANGS BY A THREAD.

"It's a warning, of course." I said. Lizzie nodded and continued.

THE HUNTERS ARE HUNTED, WHITE WATER RUNS RED.

I chuckled. "The rats are hunters!? Hilarious. It's talking about when I killed those amateur rats at the beach. Mareth dumped their bodies into the Waterway, so 'white water runs red'."

THE GNAWERS WILL STRIKE TO EXTINGUISH THE REST.

"So the rats are 'gnawers', huh? What a fitting name for a species so weak." Vikus stared at me for a moment before looking back at the prophecy. _What? What did I say wrong?_

THE HOPE OF THE HOPELESS RESIDES IN A QUEST.

"Are you hopeless, Lizzie?" I asked her. I 'saw' her shaking her head. "Good. I don't want any slackers in my team."

The old man gave me a half-smirk, as if reminiscing something.

AN OVERLAND WARRIOR, A SON OF THE SUN,

MAY BRING US BACK LIGHT, HE MAY BRING US BACK NONE.

BUT GATHER YOUR NEIGHBORS AND FOLLOW HIS CALL

OR RATS WILL MOST SURELY DEVOUR US ALL.

"Ah yes. Me. What light am I supposed to bring back? Like a sacred torch or something?" I asked Vikus.

"That is a metaphor. By 'light,' Sandwich means 'life.' If the rats can truly extinguish our light, they extinguish our life as well," said Vikus.

"Right… Read on, Lizzie."

TWO OVER, TWO UNDER, OF ROYAL DESCENT,

TWO FLIERS, TWO CRAWLERS, TWO SPINNERS ASSENT.

I could guess what a spinner was. Weavers sounded a lot better though. "So me and Lizzie are the two over, two under would be Luxa and Henry, two fliers are Henry's and Luxa's bats. Then who will be the two crawlers and spinners that will accompany us?"

"I do not know yet. We go now to assemble our neighbors in the order that the prophecy dictates. First the bats."

The number of bats was increasing as we flew. Henry led the party to a vast cave. Hanging upside-down on top of the caves were hundreds of bats.

"Do the bats have king and queen systems as well?" I asked.

"Yes, they do. We need to discuss of the war," said Vikus.

A towering cylinder of stone sat in the center of the cave. Its sides were as slick as those of the palace. On the round, flat top a group of bats waited.

Vikus turned back to me and whispered, "We humans know you to be the warrior, but other creatures may have doubts. Whoever you think you may or may not be, it is essential that our neighbors believe you are the one."

"Relax, Vikus. I know what to do."

We landed next to the bats on the huge pillar of stone. The humans all dismounted. Deep bows and greetings followed on both sides.

A white bat as silvery as the hair of the Underlanders appeared to be in charge. The Queen, I guessed. I was right. "Queen Athena," Vikus said, and presented me. "Meet you Ryan the Overlander."

"Be you the warrior? Be you he who calls?" asked the bat in a soft purr.

"I am the warrior. I am he who calls." I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. A bit of pride were slurred into those words. I stood tall and strong. I had never imagined myself to be such an outstanding figure. Well, except my criminal life up there.

The bat was still for a moment, then nodded. "It is he." Such certainty for someone such as myself. I rather liked it.

After that, Vikus and Solovet went with the bats for a war meeting. I wanted to hear. "Can I join in?"

"No need, Overlander. We will be discussing battle position for our forces, not the efforts of the quest. We shall not be absent long," said Vikus.

"Alright then, have fun."

Once I turned away from Vikus, I saw Euripedes whispering to Luxa. It was something about legs. She giggled and approached me.

"Euripedes says you're bruising his sides," said Luxa. "He wants me to teach you to ride."

"I am? I don't think I did, though."

"You hold on too strongly with your legs. You must trust the bats. They will not drop you," said Luxa.

 _Huh. Guess I was too tense around me, even where I was riding. Bloody instincts._

"It is the first lesson we teach the babies."

 _Oh now she's done it._ "Right. Got it. Thanks for the tip, _Queen_."

"What did I say wrong?" She didn't even _try_ to cover it up.

"Well, I believe it was the last word of your last sentence. Something to do with, oh I don't know, babies?"

She stood there stumped for a while before finally realizing it. "I apologize, Overlander. I did not mean to offend you."

"Well then, try to think your words before you even utter them when you become _Queen_ , Luxa," I said, and left her to her thinking.

A few minutes later, Vikus arrived. I got onto Euripedes and loosened my legs. I felt more relaxed, and decided to keep it that way. Lizzie joined, this time in front of me, and did the same.

"Now we must visit the crawlers," said Vikus. "Do you wish to continue dissecting the prophecy?"

"Go ahead."

Lizzie unrolled the scroll and began reading the poem.

ONE GNAWER BESIDE AND ONE LOST UP AHEAD.

"A gnawer is joining us?" asked Lizzie, immediately interpreting the line.

"We do not know as of yet. One gnawer beside could mean a gnawer might be tailing the quest members."

He was lying. Lizzie thought so too. She looked closer to Vikus's face, reading his expression. Then she said, "You're lying. You already know a gnawer will follow us. In fact, you do know the gnawer, don't you?"

Vikus remained calm. Suddenly, Euripedes coasted down, dipping into a cavern so low, the bats' wings and fur brushed both the ceiling and floor.

"Ah, here we are at last. The crawlers' land," said Vikus evasively and dismounted as soon as we landed.

"We won't forget that question, Vikus." I said to him. I hopped off Euripedes' back and found myself bending my back down. I couldn't stand straight because of the low ceiling.

So the crawlers were smart after all. I could see why the cockroaches had chosen it. The bats couldn't fly well, and the humans and rats couldn't fight properly with four-foot-high ceilings.

A delegation of roaches appeared and bowed low. The humans got to their knees and bowed back, so Lizzie and I did the same. _This is so Japanese,_ I thought to myself.

"Crawlers, we have grave matters to place before you. Take us to your king, take us?" said Vikus in the crawler's weird English.

They opened a path and led Vikus and Solovet away.

The five bats gathered together in a clump and fell asleep, exhausted from the day's flight.

Mareth placed the torches together to make a small fire and put on some food to warm. Henry and Luxa sat apart speaking in low voices, which was fine with me.

The non-meeting party -except Henry and Luxa who were whispering to each other- silently waited for Vikus and Solovet to finish discussing.

They returned just as the food was ready. I could see the worried expressions on their faces. Something was up. Something bad.

Everyone gathered around as Mareth passed out fish, bread, and some sort of sweet potato.

Everybody ate hungrily except Vikus, who seemed distracted.

"So when leave we?" asked Henry, through a mouthful of fish.

"We do not," said Solovet. "The crawlers have refused to come."

Luxa's head snapped up indignantly. "Refused? On what grounds?"

"They do not wish to invite the anger of King Gorger by joining our quest," said Vikus. "They have peace with both humans and rats now. They do not want to unseat it."

"Don't they know about the rats having war with you guys?" _God dammit. Not again, you idiot. Why do you think they were talking to the roaches?_

"We have asked them to rethink the proposition," said Solovet. "They know the rats are on the march. This may sway them in our direction."

"Or in the rats'," muttered Luxa.

Henry broke in. "They are the stupidest of creatures in the Underland! Why, they can barely even speak! They are weak, they cannot fight, they will not last. That is how nature intended it."

"Silence, Henry!" said Vikus sharply.

"Wel then, look at you. You're an arrogant human with barely any experience in self-defense. We humans can only protect ourselves with hands and feet. Then look at the rats. Fangs and claws. Way better than these, right?" I raised up my hands. I turned to Henry. "So, Henry. This is how 'nature' intended between us and the rats. We are physically inferior than the gnawers. Any more complaints?"

Henry went from baffled to utterly shell-shocked. I almost laughed at his expression, but now isn't a good time to do that. The result was a choked smile.

I eyed at Luxa. "What about you, _Queen_?"

"It does not matter what I think, if that is the truth," said Luxa evasively.

"But is it the truth? That is an excellent question for the future ruler of Regalia to ponder," said Vikus.

We ate quickly in silence and Vikus suggested that we all try to sleep. _Sleep after a meal? No thanks._

I told him I would, but after a few minutes. Vikus was reluctant but complied quickly. They all settled in pretty hastily, covering themselves with a thin and woven blanket, lying on the cold hard ground.

I sat on the edge of the chamber and leaned on a side. I didn't bother to check the time as I drifted off to sleep.

A scurrying sound woke me. I arched my back, scanning my surroundings. It was just the roaches. They announced that two roaches named Temp and Tick would be joining the quest.

The party quickly readied itself to depart. Temp and Tick wanted to ride with each other for crawler company. Lizzie wanted to join them. So Vikus told them to ride on Henry's bat, Ares, as he was both strong and agile. Henry didn't want to sit with the roaches and volunteered to ride with Luxa immediately. Vikus allowed him to do so and instructed Ares to fly above the others just in case one of the roaches fell off and had to be caught before it hit the ground.

None of Vikus's words seemed to relax Temp and Tick, who were obviously terrified at the idea of soaring through wide-open spaces high above the ground. Lizzie tried to reassure them but it had no effect. They would have to deal with it for a while.

We didn't have time for breakfast, so Mareth passed out chunks of cake and dried beef to eat on the journey. Vikus told me that we would be flying several hours before they took a break, so I hopped into Euripedes and readied my earpieces and my phone from my backpack.

"We must now travel to the land of the spinners," said Vikus. "Remember how frequently the rats patrol this area."

"Fly close together. We may have need of one another's protection," said Solovet. "To the air!"

The bats took off. When they took flight, I could see the roaches' domain sprawled over a much larger area than Regalia or the bats' caves. The humans and bats had small, densely populated lands that could be protected easily. The roaches lived across miles and miles of the Underland.

They must've have a lot of numbers to defend such a big space.

I was right. As we flew over a valley, I saw it. Thousands and thousands of crawlers. Millions, even, but I didn't want to push my luck. I equipped my listening devices and press play, killing time.

Vikus gave me a look of confusion when he saw me plugging the earpiece in my ears, but didn't question it.

Surprisingly, the flight ended faster than I thought. I hadn't finished my playlist when we landed on a bank of a lazy, shallow river.

When I removed my earpieces and dismounted from Euripedes, something soft and springy was under my feet. It felt like the grass in the field, but leafy-er. I used the crunching of the floor to make it out. They were vines.

Cockroaches who were fishing along the banks had a quick exchange with Temp and Tick and pulled several large fish out of the river with their mouths. Mareth cleaned them and set them on the torches to grill.

When the food was cooked, Vikus made a point of inviting Temp and Tick to join them. "It is time," he said in response to Henry's frown. "It is time those of the prophecy became of one journey, of one purpose, of one mind. All are equal here." Temp and Tick still sat off to the side, behind Lizzie, but they ate with everyone else.

"How long do we have till we reach the spinners?" asked Lizzie after swallowing a piece of fish.

"It is not far now," said Vikus, pointing at a small tunnel. "One could make it shortly even on foot."

"Do they eat humans?" I asked out of the blue. _Huh. Where did that come from?_

"Heavens no! They have no interest for human flesh." The conversation ended there.

We were just finishing up the meal when all five bats jerked their heads up. "Rats!" hissed Ares. I secretly grinned. Finally. Everyone started moving when the warning was called.

Except for Temp and Tick, all the roaches vanished into the shallow tunnels that led away from the river-bank.

Vikus thrusted Lizzie onto one of the roaches and tapped its shiny back, making it run like a horse. Well, scurry actually. He pointed to the tunnel he had just shown. "Run!" he ordered. I wanted to object, but he cut me off. "Run, Gregor! The rest of us are expendable; you are not!"

Without waiting for answer, he vaulted onto his bat and joined the other Underlanders in the air just as a squad of six rats stampeded onto the riverbank. The leader, a gnarled gray rat with a diagonal scar across his face, pointed at me and hissed, "Kill him!"

I sprinted for the tunnel, where Temp and Tick waited with a frightened Lizzie. I stopped at the mouth, making sure I blended in with the darkness. "Why stay you, Overlander, why stay you?" asked the roach carrying Lizzie, probably Temp.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" I shouted, instructing them to get a move on. I hoped my subtle message can get into those thick shells of them.

They did, taking Lizzie with them. I focused at the battle in front. Vikus was pushing the scarred rat into the river with the hilt of his sword while the others attacked the five remaining rats. While the rest were busy fighting a rat each, one escaped escaped the fray and charged at me.

"I hope you're formidable." I said, taking an offensive stance. My inner Rager roared to life, thirsting for blood. I forced it down into my body's version of the pits to hell, temporarily subduing it.

The rat took that opportunity to strike, lunging for my throat. Typical. I swept up my leg to its back paws, using its momentum to trip him. Before it had anytime to react, I held its snout and crushed it with my bare hands. Blood poured out of its nose, clearly broken.

It staggered back, swaying back and forth like a drunkard. I didn't give it time to recover. I took a step forward, forcefully opening its mouth and stuffing my extended hand down to its throat.

This was one of the more disgusting methods to torture someone, but it's an effective way to shut them up. It gurgled and tried to break free by swiping its paws to me, thrashing around and trying to clamp its jaws shut. But with my other hand holding its gums up, it was basically useless. The saliva and blood from its throat was leaking to my arm. I felt something warm running on my fingers. _Did he just hurl at me?_

I made my palm stretch, having his neck expand like a balloon. I stretched it till a part of my finger was exposed in his gullet, with it internally and externally bleeding, then I removed my hand, wiping all the sticky blood, saliva and the bit of vomit off on my shirt. It slumped down to the ground, dead from the torture.

But I wanted to make sure, so I opened its jaws so wide that it tore off, King Kong style. There was no screaming or resistance. It was dead after all. I sighed. "And here I was, expecting a good fight."

Just then, a scream echoed in the tunnel. The rats who were fighting winced. All the Underlanders used that distraction to fend the rats off. "Oh, come on!" I complained, sprinting into the tunnel.

What I 'saw' after a few seconds was a wall of crawlers, stacked from floor to ceiling. One roach noticed me and hissed something, giving me a path to walk through it. "Make haste, make you, make haste!" urged a crawler.

I did, dashing in the extremely thick wall of defense. While I did, they closed it off. I ran for about half a minute before seeing a faint glow behind a corner. I quickened my pace, wanting to investigate.

Once I turned, what I saw next annoyed me. The beam of light, which was Lizzie's flashlight, shone to its owner's back, who was stuck in the middle of a gigantic web.

"Can't you see the enormous web in front of you?"

"I- I tripped on a rock," she said pathetically.

"Ugh. Whatever. Let's just get this over with," I said, unsheathing my dagger. I couldn't kill her right now, since Vikus told me that spinners don't eat humans. It would be very suspicious if I did.

"This might hurt a little," I warned her, proceeding to cut the web around her.

While I was doing so, I heard a thwip. Echolocation told me that I had mere milliseconds before it caught me. I dodged the strand of web with my amazing reflexes, causing it to hit the ground.

Then, I 'saw' many humongous spiders surrounding Lizzie in the shadows. "Why do I feel like something's watching me?" she stated, afraid.

" _That_ would be an understatement." The spiders skittled closer and closer. I could see their features now. Six beady black eyes, bristly legs, and massive jaws that ended in curved, pointed fangs.

 _Yep, definitely poisonous._ I freed Lizzie and pushed her out of the way. She took her flashlight and aimed it around, finding her surroundings. They were inching closer.

When I turned, there was a crunch beneath my feet. I lifted my leg. An insect got stuck in the web I dodged. So that's what they were going for. They didn't care less of what I did.

A figure was running towards us. Judging by the shape of it, it was that bratty teen. Once we were in his sight, his face brightened up when he saw Lizzie and fell when he saw me. "He lives!" he called out, sounding genuinely happy. I knew he wasn't.

The gang joined up. Everyone was alive. "We thought you lost," said Mareth, who was bleeding freely from his thigh.

"What do you mean? The tunnel leads one way," I said.

Not lost in direction," said Luxa. "Lost forever."

"Oh."

A magnificent spider with beautifully striped legs swung down directly in front of Vikus. He bowed very low. "Greetings, Queen Wevox."

The spider rubbed her front legs over her chest as if she were playing the harp. An eerie voice came out of her although there was no movement of her mouth. "Greetings, Lord Vikus."

"Meet you, Ryan the Overlander, meet you," said Vikus, indicating me.

"Why come you?" strummed Queen Wevox.

Vikus summed up the whole tale in ten sentences using a soft voice.

The queen considered the story a moment. "As it is Vikus, we will not drink. Web them."

Wait. Did she just say drink? Drink _us_? Vikus had lied to me.

A horde of spiders surrounded us. I instinctively reached out for my dagger, but a hand from Vikus made me sheath it back. I glared daggers at Vikus -no pun intended- wanting him to explain. He ignored it.

A gorgeous, gauzy funnel of silk grew up around them as if by magic. It isolated the party and blocked all else from view. The spiders stopped spinning when it reached thirty feet. Two took positions as sentries at the top. It all happened in under a minute.

Everyone looked at Vikus, who sighed. "You knew it would not be simple," said Solovet gently.

"Yes, but I had hoped with the recent trade agreement…" Vikus trailed off. "I hoped too high."

"We still breathe," said Mareth encouragingly. "That is no small thing with the spinners."

"You lied, Vikus. You said that the spinners don't eat humans. I clearly heard that they were going to drink us if not for you."

Vikus sighed again. "I did not want you and Lizzie to fear the spinners."

He sounded so upset. I ended the conversation there, not wanting to sadden him further.

"So…" whispered Lizzie, making sure no one except Vikus and I could hear. "About that rat following us?"

His reply was a shaking head. Solovet called up to a guard, and in a few minutes there were bandages of silk and three woven baskets filled with clean water.

Solovet began to work her way around the group, cleaning wounds and patching people up. Luxa, Henry, and Mareth paid close attention, as if she were teaching a class.

She began by cleaning the gash on Mareth's thigh and stitching it up with a needle and thread. He didn't react to the pain; his face pale and set.

Two bats required stitches on torn wings and, though they made a great effort to remain still while Solovet slid the needle in and out of their skin, the process was clearly agonizing for them.

Once all obvious bleeding had been stopped, Solovet turned to Lizzie. "Let us attend to your face now."

I turned to her, just knowing that. Her cheek had welts where the webs was ripped off. Solovet soaked a catch cloth in water and placed it on her face. She had to grit her teeth to keep herself from screaming.

"I know it burns," said Solovet, trying to sooth her by words. "But you must wash the glue from your skin or it will fester."

"That's awful," complained Lizzie.

"If you could stand to splash water upon your face, it would be a more painful but faster process," said Solovet.

"Okay." She took a deep breath and plunged her head into one of the water baskets. I could see the pain etched on her face, screaming silently and gasping for air. After five dunks, she was fine.

Solovet tested her face, then gave her a small clay pot of ointment to dab on her face. While she gingerly applied the medicine, Solovet cleaned and bound a series of smaller wounds and forced an uncooperative Vikus to let her wrap his wrist.

After that, she turned to Temp and Tick. "Crawlers, need you any assistance from me?"

"No, we heal ourselves," said one of the roaches.

Vikus gestured the group over to him. He spoke in a whisper. "Solovet fears the spinners may pass on our whereabouts to the rats. She advises that we escape with all speed."

"Then what do we do?" asked Lizzie.

"We must damage the web so fully and so rapidly, they cannot repair it nor will it hold their weight," said Solovet. She paused. "Someone must perform the Coiler."

All heads turned to Luxa. Was this Coiler thing exclusive to her?

Her golden bat, which stood behind her, dipped its head down and touched her neck. "We can do it," said Luxa softly.

"We do not insist, Luxa. The danger, particularly at the top, is very great. But in truth, you are our best hope," said Vikus unhappily.

Henry put his arm around her shoulder. "They can do it. I have seen them in training. They have both speed and accuracy."

Luxa nodded resolutely. "We can do it. Let us not wait."

"Ryan and Lizzie, ride you on Vikus's bat. Vikus, with me. Henry and Mareth, take one crawler each," said Solovet. Henry scowled at that but did not argue.

"We need a distraction to cover Luxa," said Mareth. "I could go through the side."

"Not with that leg," said Solovet, her eyes flashing around. "And no one goes through the side. It is certain death."

"The spinners are very sensitive to noise," said Vikus. "It is too bad we have no horns."

"I can," I said. Now everyone was looking at me. "I mean, I can whistle really loudly."

"How long?" urged Vikus.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't really know. About 20 seconds or so?"

"That is enough." They split up, prepared to take off.

Solovet nodded to me. "We are ready."

I took a very deep breath, placed my fingers to my lips, and blew as hard as I can. It was such a high pitch that my echolocation got distorted.

"Go you, Luxa!" cried Solovet, and the girl took off on her bat. Luxa rose up along the web, spinning and twisting at a dizzying rate. She held her sword out straight above her head. It was slicing the funnel to shreds.

The other Underlanders were following her, cutting straight up the sides of the funnel web. At the top of the funnel, the golden bat hung in space performing an intricate, upside-down figure eight. Under the protection of Luxa's sword, the Underlanders zipped out to freedom.

I stopped my long whistle. Euripedes landed right next to me, with Vikus offering his hand.

I was about to when it happened. A jet of silk shot down from above, catching Luxa by the wrist and snatching her away from her bat, forcing her to drop her sword. I couldn't detect the spider as my ears were still ringing.

The arachnid was the Queen itself. It reeled her in, opening its jaws and preparing to dive its poisonous fangs into her throat.

The queen of spinners was about to feast on the queen of humans. How ironic.

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 **Um, I didn't know how to end it. So this would have to do, I guess. Hope you enjoy my two-in-one chapter! Critics can come in the comments.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8! Wow, this is not fast at all.**  
 **Fun Fact- Ripred is my favorite character.**  
 **Disclaimer- Lol no**

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I knew that she was seconds away from dying. Euripedes zoomed towards the spider, with Lizzie almost falling, but I knew that by the time he reached, Luxa would be dead.

I couldn't do anything to save her. I was on the low ground while the Queen was high up, stranded in the air.

Aurora's wing was bleeding freely due to Luxa's blade diving into it when she dropped it. She resisted the pain and tried to fly to her bond. She probably wouldn't make it. Unless…

"Lizzie! Use the root beer!" I yelled.

"Already on it!" she shouted back, shaking the can harshly. Right before the fangs pierced Luxa's throat, Lizzie popped open the top and aimed at the assailant, letting a stream of liquid gush out and directly smacking the spinner queen's face. It dropped Luxa and clawed at its six beady eyes.

Luxa fell and was safely caught by her bat, who swooped down for me to mount. Once I did, it took off like a rocket, joining the others who were fighting their way back to help.

"Blade Wheel!" commanded Solovet, and all the bats did the same formation that had me in the stadium. Only this time, blades are stuck out and rotating.

Spiders swarmed around the bats, trying to break their defense. Oh yeah, the distraction. I did my high pitched whistle again, causing the spiders to stop their assult and curl up in cowering balls. The bats faltered their pattern for a bit, but held it strongly. They probably aren't used to loud whistles in close proximity of their ears.

In a few minutes, we were flying free, with the spinners far behind. I looked at Luxa, who was stretched out on her golden bat, exhausted. Vikus and Solovet flew next to her.

"How fare you, Luxa? Need you some water?" asked Solovet.

"I… fare… well…" nodded Luxa in short breaths.

Vikus handed her one of the two baskets of water that the spinners had given us. Luxa grabbed it and gulped the whole thing down without sitting up, handing it to Vikus once done.

It was then Solovet noticed the blood on Aurora's wing, with Luxa's sword impaled in it. "Aurora! Your wing! It has to be mended immediately."

"I can… hold," purred Aurora, the pain obviously evident. Solovet nodded and lead the group with Vikus, making the bats speed up.

We flew down deserted passages, swerving left and right to avoid stalactites. It was quite boring, actually, with nothing to do. I laid down on the golden bat, waiting.

After a hell lot of time, Solovet and Vikus waved us down, and the party landed in a vast cavern at the mouth of a tunnel.

The bats collapsed when they did, clumping themselves together in a trembling knot. Everyone had to fall off the bats to prevent being pulverized by them. Temp and Tick seemed almost comatose from fear. I couldn't blame them. Lizzie started to talk to them and they relaxed, only just a bit.

Mareth started to prepare food, but Solovet ordered him to lie down and prop up his leg. She and Vikus made dinner while Henry and Mareth played some kind of card game.

I decided to kill time by asking Luxa a few questions. I walked to her shaking little body and asked, "So, Queen, are you the only one who can do this 'Coiler'?"

She laughed, then coughed. "Oh no, Overlander. There are but a few who can perform it. We are lucky that I came to this quest, for they would perish if I did not."

Okay, now she sounds very braggy. Intentional or not. "There you go again, Queen. Firing your words again without even thinking."

She covered her mouth. "I am truly sorry, Overlander. I never meant it that way. It is a habit of mine."

"And what do you do when you ascend the throne? Keep doing that habit of yours?"

"I will break it," she said, looking down, deathly embarrassed.

"You will. For your people." Where did that come from? Am I teaching her how to rule? That's not me. At all. What the hell. Is it _you_ , kid?

No reply was given from my other mental self. Guess that was the end of the conversation.

Lizzie popped into the conversation. "That was really cool, the Coiler," she said.

"It was my first time in a real web," confessed Luxa. She paused. "Thank you."

"For what?" I asked.

She glared at me. "Not you, Overlander." She turned to Lizzie. "Her. Saving me with the… What is this weapon?" She gestured to the root beer can Lizzie was holding.

 _What the hell! I came up with that idea and all the credit goes to Lizzie!? I mean, she did use it to save the wretched Queen, but still! It was my plan!_

"It's root beer. A drink. Want some?" offered Lizzie, handing it to her without her answering.

She tentatively took a sip, and her eyes widened. "It bubbles on the tongue," she said.

"That's why it exploded. I shook up a lot of bubbles. Go on, finish it. I'd given some to the crawlers already." She continued to take tiny curious sips.

Vikus called us all to dine, and even the roaches felt comfortable enough to join the circle.

"I am drinking Lizzie's spinner weapon," announced Luxa, holding up the root beer can. She had to explain about the root beer all over again, and then everybody had to try a sip.

When it was given back to Lizzie, she lightly shook it. There was still a bit more, judging by the sloshing sound. She walked to the cluster of bats and held it up to them, in which they obliged.

"I believe Lizzie to be a natural ambassador," said Vikus, smiling. "She treats all with an equality I myself aspire to. Come, let us eat."

Everyone wolfed down their food like it was their last day of living. Lizzie gulped down her food with a cup of water and questioned Vikus. "Can we still go on the quest without the spinners?"

"That is the question," said Vikus. "That is the question we must all consider. Clearly we cannot expect any spinners to join us willingly."

"We should have seized two when we had a chance," said Henry darkly.

"The prophecy says the spinners must assent," said Vikus. "However, we know the rats have taken many spinners prisoner. Perhaps we can free a few and persuade them to accompany us. I have often had good results with spinners."

" _Often_ , huh," I snorted, doubtful. I heard a snicker. The snicker sounded rough and scratchy. No human or animal here would have that. I turned to the bats. They never noticed.

But you will not be there, Vikus," Solovet said quietly. I started to scan my surroundings, using echolocation as backup. I 'saw' nothing but emptiness, except something in a tunnel. Whatever it was, I couldn't sense it properly with my echolocation. Was it just my imagination? No, it couldn't be. I looked back to the group; my senses alert and ready.

"You aren't leaving, are you?" asked Lizzie, worry in her voice.

"I'm afraid I have to. It is time for those of us not named by the prophecy to return home. Mareth, Solovet, and I will fly after we rest."

Luxa and Henry were surprised. "Nothing in the prophecy forbids you to come," said Luxa.

"We are not meant to be here. And beyond that we have a war to fight," said Solovet.

I was okay for them to leave, but that meant I was stuck with the kids. I didn't know how old or young the bats and roaches were, but  
I was pretty sure I was the only grown one here. "Come on! We need who knows where to go! At least keep Mareth with us!" I didn't intend to sound so whiny. _Back at it again, kid._

"I do not plan to leave you stranded in the Dead Land," said Vikus.

"We are!?" shouted Lizzie, who immediately squatted down and trembled.

"Then, what now? Are you going to give us a map or something? Or-" Then it hit me. "You're going to give us the rat, aren't you?"

"What!?" screamed Luxa. "What does the Overlander mean, Vikus?"

"I have arranged a guide for you," said Vikus.

"A guide?" asked Henry.

"A guide?" echoed Luxa.

Vikus took a deep breath to begin his long awaited speech when someone interrupted him.

"Well, I prefer to think of myself as a legend, but I suppose 'guide' will do," said a deep, world-weary voice from the dark. That was it. That was the laugh I heard.

Everyone turned to the sound. Lizzie shone her light to it. But she didn't need to, as a diagonally scarred rat stepped into the light from a tunnel. _How did my echolocation not sense him,_ I asked myself for the second time.

I just realized that it was the one who got pushed into a river by Vikus. Guess that was his plan. Lizzie and I were right all along.

Weapons were unsheathed before anyone said a word. They were the royal duo, me and Mareth, surprisingly. He didn't know about Vikus's plan.

"Stay you!" cried Vikus. "Stay you!"

The rat regarded the three armed humans with amusement. He never looked at me in the eye. Instead, it was just observing me from head to toe, never eyeing at me. "Yes, stay you or I shall be forced to move, and that always puts me in an ill humor," he said languidly.

Luxa and Mareth stopped uncertainly, but Henry ignored Vikus's command and lunged at the rat. Without moving another muscle, the rat flicked his tail. It cracked like a whip, knocking the sword from Henry's hand. The blade spun across the stone floor and slammed into the cavern wall. Henry gripped his wrist in pain.

"The hardest lesson for a soldier to learn is to obey orders he believes are wrong," said the rat philosophically. "Take care, lad, or you shall end up like me, stripped of any respectable rank and warming your shabby old hide at the fire of your enemies." The rat nodded at the old man. "Vikus."

"Ripred," said Vikus with a smile. _Ripred? The one Shed mentioned of whether I was at his level? This should be interesting._ "We have just commenced dining. Will you join us?"

"I thought you'd never ask," said Ripred, pushing himself off the wall and slouching over to the fire. None of us moved, except Vikus and Solovet. He squatted back on his haunches next to Solovet. "My dear Solovet, how kind of you to fly out to greet me. And with a war on, too."

"I could scarcely have missed an opportunity to break bread with you, Ripred," said Solovet.

"Oh, come now, you know perfectly well you only tagged along to wheedle information out of me," said Ripred. "And to gloat over your victory at the Flames."

"I destroyed you," said Solovet with glee. "Your army turned tail and ran howling into the river."

"Army," snorted Ripred. "Why, they were as much an army as I am a butterfly. I'd have stood a better chance fighting with crawlers." The rat looked at Temp and Tick, who were cowering against the wall, and sighed. "Present company excepted, of course."

I kept my dagger in half-sheath, just in case. I walked towards him and spoke. "How did you mask your presence, _Ripred_?"

He turned to me, finally making eye contact. His glowing eyes said it all. The intelligence, deadliness and pain. I focused on the deadliness aspect, trying to find out whether my suspicions were true. He blinked, hiding it and spoke in the rough voice I heard earlier. "Ah, this must be our warrior. How very brave of you to ask me that. To answer your question, let's just say I have a certain skill for that." He left it as that and continued eating his beef.

The rat glanced around at Luxa, Mareth, and Henry, who were keeping their distance. The bats were extending and folding their wings, unsure of what to do. "Well, come on, then, isn't anyone else hungry? I hate dining alone. It makes me feel so unloved."

"I did not prepare them, Ripred," said Vikus.

"Clearly," said the rat. "Clearly my arrival is an unexpected pleasure." He went to work on his beef bone, making an annoying scraping sound.

"Meet you, Ripred the gnawer," said Vikus to the group. "He shall be joining the quest as your guide."

It took a while for that statement to sink in for the trio. Then Luxa spoke up in a voice hoarse with hatred. "No, he shall not. We do not travel with rats."

"The Prophecy of Gray' requires it, Luxa," said Solovet. "One gnawer beside."

"'Beside' could mean anything," snarled Henry. "Perhaps we leave the gnawer dead 'beside' us."

"Perhaps you do. But having witnessed your last attack, I doubt it," said Ripred, starting on a wedge of cheese.

"We have killed five rats since midday," said Luxa.

"You mean the idiots that I handpicked for cowardice and ineptitude? Oh, yes, bravo, Your Highness. That was a masterly piece of combat," said Ripred, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Do not flatter yourself you have yet fought a rat."

"I killed Fangor and Shed," I said. My tone sounded like I wanted him to accept him as his equal, if Shed's words were true.

"Did you now? Well then, I stand corrected. Fangor and Shed were excellent fighters, on the rare occasions they were sober," said Ripred. "However, I expect they were outnumbered and somewhat thrown by the arrival of our warrior."

"No, they weren't. I killed them myself. With these bare hands." I showed him my blood stained fists. "This isn't my blood, you know. You can smell them if you don't believe me."

He did; his snout twitching to the blood on my hands. "Hm. You are more of of a Warrior than I thought. I would congratulate you for defeating them, but I'm not in the mood." He changed the topic. "So, what say you, Warrior? Do you refuse to go with me as well?"

"Hell, no." I crossed my arms. "If I say yes, everyone says yes. 'Follow his call', remember?" Ripred smirked.

Then, Lizzie popped up behind me. "Must the guide be a rat?" she asked politely.

Ripred eyed her and looked surprised for a split second. His face softened. "Well hello there, little girl. What's your name?"

I was confused. Ripred went from overly sarcastic and ignorant to caring in a matter of seconds.

"Elizabeth. But my family calls me Lizzie. At least, they used to," she said, sobbing uncontrollably. _Bloody hell, not this again._

She ran to Ripred and hugged him with her small, skinny arms. He returned the hug and soothed her. "There, there. Let it all out. What do you mean, 'they used to'?"

More tears. "They're dead," she mumbled. Ripred obviously picked that up as he hugged her tighter and patted her head. I could hear her too. He's not the only one with sensitive ears.

"So what's in it for you?" I asked Ripred.

"A fair question," said Ripred. "Well, Warrior, I am planning to overthrow King Gorger and I need you to help me."

"By doing what, exactly?"

"I don't know," admitted Ripred. "None of us does."

"So you don't have a plan for that, but you're gonna do it anyway?"

"If you put it like that, then yes."

A smile escaped my lips. My first ever genuine appreciating smile. I like this rat.

I turned to Vikus. "So, Vikus, before you leave, would you mind dissecting the rest of the prophecy for us?"

He eyed Lizzie then to me. "Very well. Would you mind getting the prophecy from Lizzie?"

I strode to her and tapped her shoulder. She took out the prophecy from her leather sling bag and passed it to me without turning her body or saying a word.

I tossed it to Vikus, who caught it clumsily and unrolled the scroll, reading it loud enough so that everyone could hear.

ONE GNAWER BESIDE AND ONE LOST UP AHEAD.

"We already did that, Vikus. Ripred's the gnawer and Lizzie's father is the 'one lost up ahead'."

AND EIGHT WILL BE LEFT WHEN WE COUNT UP THE DEAD.

I silently counted around me. Two bats, two Underlanders, two Overlanders, two crawlers, two spinners which might join us, one lost, and one rat. Twelve altogether. "So four would be dead, if her father counts."

Lizzie whimpered. Ripred gave me a momentary glare and continued soothing her. "As a survivor, of course," I said, correcting myself.

THE LAST WHO WILL DIE MUST DECIDE WHERE HE STANDS.

"That could be me. Or Ripred. Or Henry, Temp, Ares, or even a spinner that may be joining us. So six possibilities," I said darkly. I noticed Henry clenching his fists. He probably was scared of dying.

THE FATE OF THE EIGHT IS CONTAINED IN HIS HANDS.

SO BID HIM TAKE CARE, BID HIM LOOK WHERE HE LEAPS,

AS LIFE MAY BE DEATH AND DEATH LIFE AGAIN REAPS.

I thought long and hard. "So one dies and one lives at the end?"

"That may be possible," said Vikus. "But it is very cryptic. I believe no one will fully understand it until the final moment has arrived."

There was a pause. Someone couldn't take the silence. "Are we going to wait or go? I'm getting bored even before this journey began," said Ripred. I grinned. Lizzie was sound asleep in his arms. Or rather, paws.

"What say you, Luxa?" asked Vikus to her.

What can I say, Vikus? Can I return to our people and tell them I withdrew from the quest when our survival hangs in the balance?" said Luxa bitterly.

"Of course you cannot, Luxa. This is why he times it so," said Henry.

"You could choose to-" started Vikus.

"I could choose! I could choose!" retorted Luxa. "Do not offer me a choice when you know none exists!" She and Henry turned their backs on Vikus.

"Fliers?" said Solovet, as Vikus seemed to have lost the ability to talk.

"Aurora and I go with our bonds," muttered Ares.

"Then it is settled. Come, Mareth, we are needed at home," said Solovet.

A distraught Mareth quickly made up packs of food for the members of the quest. "Fly you high, all of you," he said in a strained voice, and climbed on his bat.

Solovet mounted on her bat and unrolled a map. Ripred slowly stood up and carefully carried Lizzie on his back, walking to Solovet and helping her work out the safest route back to Regalia. Vikus moved to the royal children. Neither of them turned to look at him.

"I would not part this way, but I understand your hearts. Perhaps one day you will be able to forgive me this moment. Fly you high, Henry. Fly you high, Luxa," said Vikus. He waited for a response, but none came. He turned and climbed heavily onto his bat.

"Fly you high, Overlanders," said Vikus sadly, and Euripedes began to take flight, slowly.

I could guess what that term meant. I wasn't going to reply to him.

"Say it," said my other self.

 _No. Why should I? It's none of my business, and its none of yours as well._

"It's _manners_! I know you still have moral values! Come on, why can't you just say _four words?_ "

 _Shut the hell up! I don't care! Why is that so hard to understand!?_

"Say it! Or else I will!"

 _You won't do that. I won't let you._

"I'm going to say it!

 _Just try._

I clamped my mouth shut. It trembled. I gnashed my teeth, not letting him speak. Suddenly, my nose was blocked. My only passage of air was stopped by a personality. A damn personality. It's okay. I could hold my breath for a few minutes. When Vikus was almost out of range for him to hear anyone, I felt my lungs contracting. Damn this kid is desperate.

I had no choice but to breathe. Right after taking a breath, I shouted: "Fly you high, Vikus!" and waved to him. I freaking _waved_. Vikus waved back with tears in his eyes. I was about to complain again, but I knew he won't quit being… him.

 _Screw it, I'm done arguing with you. Nothing is going to change you._

Ripred gave me a quizzical look. I ignored it, deathly embarrassed. Lizzie was still sleeping despite my scream. Heavy sleeper, I guessed.

"We may as well get some rest. Like Lizzie over here," said Ripred with a big yawn. "Start fresh in a few hours." He brushed some cheese crumbs off his fur, placed Lizzie to lean her on him, curled up in a ball, and was snoring loudly within a minute.

No one else knew what to say. I grinned. Typical attitude of his. I properly sheathed back my daggers and spread my blanket on an even-looking floor. I laid down onto it and observed. Temp and Tick crawled next to me and slept soundly. I guess they thought that I was the safe zone. Lizzie was with Ripred, who was a rat, Henry and Luxa had insulted them, and I kinda unintentionally praised them.

Luxa refused to lie down. Aurora came and wrapped her golden wings around her. Ares pressed his black, furry back against Aurora's, and Henry lay at his feet.

They were cautious. They were wary of Ripred. They didn't trust the rat. I knew the reason why, but they didn't have to be _that_ scared.

I closed my eyes and let myself drift off on the rock hard surface. Sleeping, but not really sleeping. It's like in a comatose state, just with the brain on active mode. I made sure that my other self wouldn't control me while I sleep.

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 **And done! Wow, exactly 3700 words, besides the two sentences I'm typing right now. I know that sleep cliffhangers (I call them sleephangers) might be overrated, so I decided that this would be the last one. For this story, at least. Hope Ripred is still in character.**  
 **Anyways, rate and review with or without critics! No, really. If you have a complaint for this, fire away. It makes me know my mistakes and write better for your enjoyment.**


	9. Chapter 9

**YOUR PATHETIC AUTHOR IS IN CUSTODY. THERFORE, I WILL BE HIS REPLACEMENT. HE HAS ALREADY WRITTEN HIS NEW CHAPTER AND HAD CONSTANTLY PLEADED WITH ME TO LET HIM PUBLISH IT TO YOU LOW-LIVES. I AM DOING THAT AS I'M WAITING FOR THE RANSOM.**  
 **HE APOLOGIZES FOR THE DELAY, AND SAYS HE ALREADY HAVE THOUGHT OF THE EPILOGUE AT THE END OF CODE OF CLAW, WHATEVER THAT MEANS.**  
 **DISCLAIMER- WHAT IS THIS?**

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A thin and pointy object was heading to my direction. I 'saw' it with my echolocation, unsheathing my dagger and swung it to the object, slowly opening my eyes.

The sharp thread retreated in the last possible second, narrowly missing the blade.

My vision was blurry, but I knew who did that. "Good reflexes," mused Ripred. "But I'm not here to test them." He whipped his tail on the floor. Luxa and Henry awoke. "Time to get moving. Feed yourselves and let's go." He walked away with Lizzie beside him, holding his paw.

I arched my back, crawling out of the blanket. "Who's got the food?" I asked lazily, rubbing off the dirt in my eyes.

Luxa just pointed her finger to the packs of food. She probably was still angry over Vikus.

"Can't you prepare the food, since you're the closest?" I asked Luxa.

Henry interjected. "Luxa and I do not serve food, we are royalty," he said haughtily.

"Well, then don't blame me if you're starving. And don't expect me to 'serve' you just because you are 'royalty'."

Ripred laughed. "Tell him, boy. Tell him New York fought a war so you wouldn't have to answer to kings and queens."

He knows our history. "Have you been sneaking into the Overland? And I'm not a boy, Ripred."

"Oh, yes I did. I know a great many things about the Overland that our friends here do not. I have spent much time there among your books and papers," said Ripred, ignoring my second sentence.

"And you have not been caught or seen ever?" I asked in curiousity.

"Caught? No. Seen? Only once, when I was too interested in one of your history books. Either that or I'm getting old." He changed attitudes in a flash. "Let's not talk about that anymore. Move, Overlander. Eat, don't eat, but let's go," ordered Ripred.

I went to the food supplies. It was mostly smoked meat, bread, and some sort of yam I had in Regalia.

Luxa came over and awkwardly sat next to me.

"What is it, _Queen_?"

"How do we... make the food?" she asked.

"You don't know!?"

"Henry and I, we have never actually prepared food," admitted Luxa.

I could 'see' Henry scowling at Luxa, but she didn't look at him.

"Wow, you brats really _are_ spoilt to the core. Not even something simple like a sandwich?"

"A sandwich? Is this a dish named in honor of Bartholomew of Sandwich?" she asked, puzzled.

"No. It's basically meat with two slices of bread in between."

"I have not made a sandwich."

I sighed. Why am I teaching her? Must be my other self again. Whatever. "I guess li'l old me would have to do." I handed her a knife from the pack and told her to cut the whole meat into thin slices. While she was busy, I took out one of my unused daggers that had little teeth on the sides of the blade. Perfect for food. I effortlessly sliced a loaf of bread into eighteen slices.

Once done, I looked back to her to see how she was doing. She did a pretty good job with it, having cut several very thin slices, not that I was impressed. I demonstrated how to make a sandwich, in which she made a chunky version of it. She seemed satisfied and made three more, passing them to herself, Henry and their bats.

I made six, one extra for the rat in case he was thought one wasn't enough. I gave two to the crawlers, one for me and one for Lizzie. When I got to Ripred, who was slouching sulkingly in the tunnel, I gave him the remaining two.

"For me?" said Ripred in exaggerated surprise. "And two, no less. How thoughtful of you. I'm sure your party would love to see me starve."

"I bet they do. But you're our guide. Who would be guiding then? Surely not me; I barely have any knowledge on where to go."

"Quite true," said Ripred, popping an entire sandwich in his mouth and already readying for the other sandwich. "It's good we have this understanding. Mutual need is a strong bond. Stronger than friendship, stronger than love."

I sat in front of him, bitting on my sandwich. "Oh? Do rats _love_?"

"Oh, yes," said Ripred with a smirk. "We love ourselves very much."

"Of course..." I paused. "So, about my question you haven't replied."

He ripped a chunk of his sandwich with his sharp incisors and swallowed. I knew that that was supposed to be intimidating, but I was unfazed by his display. "What about it?"

"I want an answer."

He groaned. "Fine. It's something called echolocation, if you know what that means. Satisfied?"

I never knew echolocation could put up a sound barrier around oneself. Guess I hadn't truly master echolocation. "Then can all rats echolocate?"

"No. Currently, it's just me who can." He leaned closer to my face. I could smell his awful stench of cheese and fish. Ugh. "If you're asking me, that means you can do it too, can't you?"

I faked a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

He chomped off the rest of the sandwich. "No need to lie to me, boy. I already know the truth since we met."

I was about to ask another question when he clamped my mouth shut. "No more. Finish your sandwich. We leave at once."

He stood up and went for Lizzie, who was talking to the roaches. Everyone had finished their breakfast and packed up. Henry and Luxa was about to mount their bats when Ripred stopped them. "Don't bother. You cannot fly where we go," he said, and indicated a tunnel that was barely six feet high and only a few feet wide.

Aurora and Ares were twitching in distress. "What of our fliers?" asked Luxa.

"I'm sure you'll work that out," drawled Ripred.

"Just let them ride on the crawlers," I told the Underlanders.

"Fliers do not ride crawlers," said Aurora edgily.

"Right. And crawlers don't ride fliers," I said sarcastically. The bats fluttered their wings, but never replied. "Come on, your city is having a war here. If you can't even go in a narrow tunnel, what are the chances if you're forced to go in there again for emergencies?"

"Do not use that tone with them," snapped Luxa. "Fliers do not like a place they cannot spread their wings."

"That's what I'm saying! Would you rather go to the safest and most difficult path for your survival, than to the short and dangerous to take your chances?"

There was a moment of silence. "We will ride with the crawlers," said Ares shortly.

"Finally," said Ripred, bored to pieces by the argument.

Luxa and Henry set the bats on the roaches' backs. They had to lie facedown and cling to the smooth shells with their claws. It was an uncomfortable position, I had to admit, but what could you do for your own life?

"Lead the way, _Lord_ Ripred," I said.

He smirked. "Lord, huh," and slid into the tunnel with Lizzie, who shone the way through the tunnel with her construction hat and a cloth over her mouth. Henry followed next, with a torch and a drawn sword with his uninjured hand. The bats went next on the crawlers.

I waited for Luxa to go before me, but she shook her head. "No, Overlander. I think it best if I cover our backs."

"And have the Queen of Regalia behind me? No thanks. _I_ will cover us. Besides, you're not as strong as Henry."

"I will admit I am not, but I am faster and more flexible."

" _Please_. Don't flatter yourself. Let me do it. I need to blow off some rage in me." She gave me a confused look. "I need to get my anger out of me." She nodded, understanding, and went in. I brought up the rear.

The tunnel was airless and cramped the more we went, with a stinky liquid dripping from the ceiling. So that's why Lizzie had to cover her mouth. I knew what Ripred was planning. I dodged the liquid away from my face. At least I had something to do to distract myself from boredom.

After several really long hours, everyone was soaked and miserable. Ripred led us into a small cavern. The smelly liquid ran down along the sides of the place like rain. The bats were so stiff that Luxa and Henry had to lift them off the roaches and help straighten out their wings.

Ripred lifted his nose in the air and took a deep sniff. "There. That has done much to conceal your odor," he said with satisfaction.

"Knew it. Why, exactly?" I asked, resisting the urge to wipe the liquid off me and cracking my bones.

"It was quite necessary. As a pack, you were highly repugnant," said Ripred.

"Of course."

Luxa and I opened up the packs and doled out food. No one felt like talking, which was fine by me. Ripred let Lizzie down, swallowed his lunch in a gulp and stood in the entrance to the tunnel.

I did quick bites on my food, as I was starving and knee that there was imminent danger approaching, judging by Ripred's anticipation. I wielded my dagger in case I was right.

The rest were just finishing up when the bats went tense. "Spinners," warned Aurora. So that's what it was.

"Yes, yes, they've been on our trail almost since we started our journey. I cannot smell how many in this place, with all the water. What can they want, I wonder?"

 _He could even hear the spinners from the start?_ I strained my ears, but all I heard was rushing water. Normally I use other sounds to detect, but this was too much. Ripred flicked his tail at Luxa and me and gave an order. "Three-point arc, you two."

I knew what that meant. Three backs facing each other. I went into position, unsheathing my dagger. Luxa flinched at the tail, but didn't move after that.

"Three-point arc and this is no time to test my authority, pup!" growled Ripred, baring his sharp teeth to her. She took her place on the remaining side of Ripred, but back a few inches. We were in-between the party and the tunnel entrance, with her bat taking position behind us. Ares and Henry were back-to-back and next to Luxa, each protecting one another.

Everyone waited. I could tell that the crawlers could already sense the invaders, and proceeded to protect Lizzie.

I could hear the spinners now. It was faint, but noticeable. I gripped the hilt of my dagger tighter, excited. Ripred had his muscles rippling in anticipation along his broad gray back as the spinners approached. I fully expected a huge wave of poisonous spiders charging at us for revenge or something.

To my dismay, it didn't happen. Only a large orange spider with a small brown spider on its back staggered in and collapsed on the floor. The brown one was oozing a blue liquid, which clearly was blood. It made a great effort to sit up. Its front legs brushed its chest as it spoke. "Vikus sends us. Gnawers attacked webs. Many spinners lost. We two... we join ...the quest."

It rolled onto its back and curled up its legs, its blood staining the stone floor. It was dead.

"So we're all here," said Lizzie softly.

"What do you mean?" asked Henry.

"The prophecy says 'two over, two under, of royal descent. Two fliers, two crawlers, two spinners assent. One gnawer beside and one lost up ahead." She didn't continue.

Ripred did it for her. "And eight will be left when we count up the dead. Well, one down and three to go," said Ripred, poking the spider with the end of his tail. I nodded.

So, what is your name, spinner?" he asked the orange spider.

"I am she called Gox. He is Treflex," said the spider, indicating the dead one.

"Well, Gox, I suppose you're hungry after your journey, but our food is limited. None of us will think less of you if you'd like to dine on Treflex," said Ripred.

Gox immediately began to pump juice into Treflex, making slow annoying sucking sounds.

"Spiders are neither squeamish nor sentimental," said Ripred. "Thank goodness for that."

That action made the royalties turn a little green. I had seen worse, so it didn't really affect me, except the repetitive noise.

Once Gox was done, Ripred began to grill her about the rat attack. She told him an entire army - several hundred rats, at least - had invaded the land of the spiders. The spiders had held them off, but many had died on both sides before the rats had finally retreated. Vikus had come by after the carnage and had sent Gox and Treflex on his bat to the tunnel entrance. "Why?" asked Gox. "Why do the gnawers kill us?"

"I don't know. It may be that King Gorger has launched a total Underland attack. Or it may be they caught wind of two Overlanders heading toward our land. Did they mention the warrior of 'The Prophecy of Gray'?" asked Ripred.

"There were no words, only death," said Gox.

"It is quite fortunate you found us. It would have taken much time to free two spinners from King Gorger's prisons unnoticed, and we have no time to waste," said Ripred to Gox. He turned to Lizzie. "I'm sorry, but this attack on the spinners does not bode well for your father."

"What? Why?" asked Lizzie in a panicked voice.

"Vikus has done a remarkable job of concealing you both," he said, eyeing to me. "No rat save me has seen you and lived to tell of it. The rats do not know the warrior has arrived. But the fact that humans have brought Overlanders to the spinners will make them suspicious," said Ripred. The wheels seemed to be visibly turning in his head. "Still, there is much confusion in war and no rat has identified you. We move on now!"

No one tried to argue. We packed up silently and headed to a little more spacious and drier tunnel at the far side of the cavern. The bats could fly now, but the space was dangerous for riders.

"We shall go on foot," Luxa told Aurora. "Even if you carry the rest of us, what will be done with the gnawer?" So, the bats took to the air with the remaining packs.

While we walked, I was beginning to feel bored. I couldn't punch walls or anything, since being quiet was a priority. So I decided to quietly ask Luxa some questions.

"Queen. How does bonding work?"

"When a bat and a human bond, they swear to fight to the death for each other," whispered Luxa.

I rolled my eyes to the back of my skull. "I already know that. Be more detailed about it. So everyone has a bond, then?"

"Oh, no. Some never find a bat to bond with. I became one with Aurora when I was quite young, but this is not common."

I didn't know the reason of me asking so many questions, but -whatever. Might as well get more information about others. "Explain."

"It is a simple ceremony. Many bats and humans gather. You stand face-to-face with your bat and say a vow. Like so," said Luxa, extending her hand and reciting.

"Aurora the flier, I bond to you, Our life and death are one, we two. In dark, in flame, in war, in strife I save you as I save my life."

"And then your bat recites it back, but using your name. Then there is a feast," concluded Luxa.

"Interesting," I said, totally uninterested once I heard the stupid poem and ending the conversation. I tapped my fingers on the side of my pants, trying to distract myself by echolocating around me. I 'saw' Ares and Aurora barely flapping their giant wings to reduce the noise level, Henry occasionally clutching the hilt of his sword, Lizzie taking a nap on Ripred, and Ripred scraping his teeth on a bone.

After a really long time, he finally made us stop in a cavern that had a dry floor and a spring with drinkable water. My legs automatically crumbled to the ground. Damn, they were sore.

Luxa and I passed our decreasing supply of food, which was faster than I thought. I then felt how cold the cavern was. I removed my shoes, using the coldness of the floor to undo my soreness of my feet. Ah. Much better.

There was a gasping sound coming from Lizzie. That's weird. She never moved herself, only being carried by Ripred. So what the hell made her so exhausted? Apparently Ripred noticed it as well. He snatched the supplies from Luxa and buried his snout into the bag, taking out a small bottle of blue liquid and pouring a few drops into Lizzie's mouth. After checking her condition, he ordered everyone to rest, embracing Lizzie with his large body, probably to give her warmth.

I didn't feel like napping just yet, so I sat on my blanket, watching the others fall to sleep. Once I thought I was sleepy enough, I leaned my body on the cold floor and covered myself with the blanket, making sure I had my echolocation in at least a one meter radius and getting a comfortable position to sleep before actually doing it.

Someone stepped into my zone after a couple of minutes. It was Henry. He was slowly and almost quietly heading for Ripred, his blade in a downward position.

Ah, yes. The typical assassination trick. Go for the kill behind the victim. How quaint. Unfortunately for Henry, I was expecting him to do this.

I silently unwrapped the blanket away from my body and dived into the scene just when Ripred's eyes flickered and Henry's blade was preparing to impale his skull.

A clash of metal against metal soon followed.

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 **And I'm back! I had no idea who kidnapped me just now, but now everything's fine! So, yeah. Rate and review, critics are okay here blah blah. Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10! Wow, that's quite slow already. I mean, the first book got like, what? 27 chapters? So we're about a third way there. I think. Anyways, enjoy this chapter!**

 **Fun fact- I had watched Deadpool and I might use his character as an inspiration.**  
 **This-claimer: U wot m8?**

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Ripred swiped back with his razor sharp claws, only to hit my shirt, tearing the behind like paper and grazing my back. This happened while I was blocking Henry's attack with my dagger in a crisscross fashion. He had a surprised look on his face.

The clang woke eveyone except Lizzie and the lonesome spider. Luxa and Aurora were instantly airborne. I 'saw' Ares charging straight to the rat in the air. He probably thought Ripred was attacking his bond, for whatever reason he had. I equipped another dagger with my free hand and pointed its edge to the black bat.

He tried to stop with his wings but his speed was too great. He spread out his wings, clenched his feet and braced for impact. Ripred was out of the scene in a flash, leaving me and Henry to be the new targets. I didn't want to run away. I kicked Henry out of the way and swirled around to face Ares while keeping my weapons, extending my arms and aiming at his feet, positioning my stance properly so that I don't fall with him. After all, I had lifted a car with my own hands without my Rager abilities before. What's the difference? Besides, this would be a good way to let out the frustration I had deep beneath me.

Once I made contact with it, my Rager powers activated. I bent my arms to go with his momentum and, together with my Rager strength and my own, safely heaved him to the ground. My Rager abilities stopped after my feat.

Everyone was shocked and amazed, although Ripred was just amused. They apparently haven't seen a human carry a flier before.

"So there _is_ a difference," I said to myself. They were still gawking at me. "So are you all gonna just stand there all day or what?"

Luxa slowly descended to the ground, but stayed on Aurora's back. Henry gingerly rose and pointed his sword at me; his eyes filled with hatred. "Move, Overlander, or I will use force."

I chuckled. Ripred was standing far behind me. "You're threatening me? You, who failed so badly at a simple assassination, are asking me to move? Hilarious."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "The rat would be dead now were it not for you," he said, tightening his grip of the hilt and turning it vertically, taking a basic fighting stance.

I cracked my knuckles. "I bet you're even weaker than Fangor or Shed."

He charged and blindly swung his sword at me, which I easily dodged. He did a couple more before I disarmed him by hitting his wrist. That made him clatter his sword down on the ground. Now he had no weapon. He tried to take it back, but I was faster. I kicked his armpit that rendered his sword hand useless. He grabbed his arm in pain.

I picked up his sword, twirling it with my fingers. "It's over, _Henry_. You can't possibly defeat me."

That did it. He went into the fray with his fists. With a flurry of blind punches that only hit the open air, he was no match for me. I was getting bored, in a middle of a fight no less.

I slapped his cheek on the side of the blade so hard -or maybe he was so weak- that he literally flew towards a cavern wall with an echo-y resonating sound. A wall with small, little spikes. "Aw crap," I mumbled before rushing behind Henry and catching his shirt while he was in mid-flight.

"Be reminded that I only let you live just because of your status," I told him harshly. He didn't reply. He was out cold. I sighed. Where can I find anyone who can try to stay conscious after my attacks? I confiscated his sheath and put the sword in, slotting it onto my belt, which fitted perfectly.

I faced my spectators. Luxa hurriedly went to his side, trying to shake him awake. Ripred raised his front paws and clapped loudly. "I will say this for you, Warrior, you do not lack boldness or skill."

My lips curled into a grin. "Did you just compliment me? How touching."

"Do not flatter yourself, Overlander. Because of you, we now have to wait for the brat to wake up."

"I got that covered." I grabbed a basket of water, motioned Luxa to stand back, and satisfied myself by dumping the whole thing down to Henry's stupid face. He sputtered and gasped, opening his eyes and looking around himself.

"So, what now?" I asked Ripred, tossing the basket into the drinkable water.

"Well, since obviously no one's going back to dreamland, we may as well make tracks for her father," said Ripred, proceeding to carry Lizzie on his back, who had just woke up. Gox was already dismantling her web, to not leave any evidence, which was a good idea. I took back the filled basket and put it with the supplies. I waited until everyone's back were turned before I changed into a new fresh shirt, then followed the group.

The party followed the guide slowly and, for Henry's situation, painfully. No one had the mood to talk. Hell, even I didn't. It was either the lack of sleep or the worries in their faces now that everyone was here in a very gloomy and narrow tunnel. I knew there was a rushing river in front of us. The more we walked, the louder it became. That was a nuisance as it disrupted Ripred's, the bats' and my echolocation altogether. I realised that this grouping in the smallness of the tunnel was a very good opportunity to kill us all.

Ripred led us out of the tunnel and into a huge cavern divided by a deep canyon. A broad and swinging bridge spanned the wide and powerful river. I could tell that at least three species were involved in the bridge's construction. The humans, with the thin stone slabs they had cut, which formed the floor of the bridge; the spinners, with their thick silk they had woven; and the bats, who were for the placement of the slabs.

Lizzie's head went up, flashing her head-light to the top of the bridge, when we saw them. At least twenty rats sitting motionless on the rocks above the opening to the tunnel. Right above our heads. Waiting. Now we're talking.

"Run!" shouted Ripred, snapping his teeth at my heels, forcing me to run onto the worn out bridge. Henry and Luxa got a head start on their bats and zipped their way towards the end of the bridge. Meanwhile on my part, I had to bloody run with Ripred's hot and stinky breath on my neck.

But I didn't want to run away from a perfect opportunity. I turned abruptly to the wave of rats, my head crazy for battle. My Rager senses came loose. But Ripred anticipated this move from me and spun me forward and snagged my backpack with his teeth. He lifted me in the air while bolting for the far side of the river.

"Why can't we fight them!?" I whined like a little child. I didn't try to stop it this time. No surprises there, considering my bloodthirsty state of my brain. All my head was playing were torture and killing methods I could do to the swarm of rats.

There was no reply from Ripred. Only a roll of the eyes. Once he reached the other side of the bank, he slammed me down on the ground, slowly plopped Lizzie onto the floor, and joined Luxa on hacking through the thick silk ropes supporting the bridge. Lizzie's hat light was still aimed at the bridge. Henry was on his bat, ready to take off. Coward.

Gox was about three-quarters to the safe point. Behind her were the two roaches, and behind them were the rats. The distance between the two crawlers was too large. The back roach was going to die, I knew it.

I rose up and tried to run for the bridge, but Ripred's tail smacked me away. I hadn't expected that. Let's try that again.

I stood again and ran for the bridge again. Ripred's tail was coming at my face. I dodged it at the last second and made a break for it. His tail grabbed my ankle, but I was ready. I swooped my captured leg up and stepped on his tail. He squeaked and loosened his grip. That was it. I shook my leg and sprinted on the bridge. The two stopped trying to saw the silk.

"Overlander! Stop your foolishness at once!" shouted a very annoyed Luxa.

"Shut up! I want to enjoy myself!" My head was starting to sting. "Get out of here! You're in my way!" Gox shot a silk of web to the top wall of the bank and quickly reclined herself to the wall of the bank. I had to crouch to give her the space. Now for the crawlers. "MOVE!" I screamed at the crawlers, running towards the army of rats, being fully aware that they could go faster.

The front roach did, with a burst of speed; but the back roach turned and tried to face the rats alone.

"Son of a ...!" I jumped above the first crawler as it crawled pass me and kept moving my legs. "Get out, get out!" That wasn't a plea. But the crawler didn't. Instead, it split its shell into two, with wings under it.

 _What the hell!? Why didn't they use that to fly to the other side of the bank!?_

It took flight and flew in the face of the lead rat. The rat was startled in surprise, but not for long. Once it recovered, the rat sprang forward and crushed the crawler's head with its jaws.

The thought of the crawlers not using their wings to escape infuriated me, fueling my Rager senses. The thrill, the adrenaline were all pumping in my blood. My vision splintered, giving me every rats' weak spot. I didn't want to know their weaknesses, so I used the sight I had to count how many there are. Twenty. I didn't want to just fight them, I wanted them to enjoy a slow, excruciating death by my daggers.

The wave marched onwards to their death. I shifted into my stance and charged into the swarm with my daggers in hand.

"Do not be afraid! He is merely only one human!" shouted a rat.

"What an understatement," I said, and began my rampage. The first rat that made contact with me got its neck cut. "One!" Then the second and third had their stomachs sliced open. "Three!" Three rats attacked while their companions surrounded me and watched. I stabbed the attackers' limbs, one in the leg, the other in the arm, another in the tail. They collapsed after my move. "Six!"

This time, all the rest of the rats came into my range of combat, screaming out a battlecry. This was the moment I was waiting for. Those police and militaries above used only long-ranged weapons like machine guns and sniper rifles. I couldn't use them there. But this! I can finally use them! The fire dragon can finally breathe.

I took out one of my fire-starters, a custom made blowtorch. It has a hydrogen-filled gas can attached to the bottom of the handle. It was basically a flamethrower. I flipped the switch, releasing all of the gas and spun my body around, smacking the heads of the unfortunate rats. Once I did a full swirl, I made sure the rats were only centimeters away from me before I ignited the blowtorch.

An explosion of flames spewed out everywhere, knocking the rats away and scorching them by their fur. They screamed in pain and agony, some even rolling on the floor to smoother out the fire. I laughed at their pathetic efforts. Those weren't your average flames. Those are blue flames, the hottest flames of all.

Ten rats were ablaze, turning to ashes in a couple of seconds and leaving only four of which didn't had any scalds anywhere. They must've escaped the blast zone. No matter, I just have to leave it in my own two hands, literally.

Four gnawers won't be a challenge. But the speed of the burning bridge was. I kept my blowtorch back into its respective place and said, "Ten. Four more to go." Then, I hollered. "Are any of you stronger than Ripred, by any chance?"

The answer I got was a rush in by the quartet. Every one of them were either faster or stronger than Fangor and Shed. I blocked their claws and wrists with both my daggers and elbows respectively. "Oho... This will be fun."

The thick silk supporting the bridge were covered in blue fire, forcing me to end the battle quickly, as much as I disliked it. I knocked their paws aside for a split-second before slashing downwards diagonally. I used the moment of their surprised pain to kick them of into the blazing fire. All four hit the flaming silk ropes and immediately were caught in its fury; one even losing its balance and falling into the abyss like a shooting star in the night sky, only with screaming involved. The bridge swayed to the right, causing two more to fall. Now there was only one.

The rat tried to douse the flames with its paws, but it was futile. Realizing that, it charged at me for a last ditch effort. It was either pure determination or luck that it still could move in those flames. Sadly for the gnawer, the odds are not in its favor. I cut the silk rope behind me and immediately held the opposite rope while throwing my dagger in its heel. It tumbled, rolling in the deep darkness, along with my dagger.

The silk surprisingly was still burning down. But I knew it wouldn't last that long. I sped up my climbing, holding onto the slabs when the whole silk couldn't be held. My Rager abilities subsided before I could even use it to crawl. _Damn it. Why now?_

The blue light was spreading towards me from the front. Soon, there wouldn't be anything to grip. I couldn't use echolocation. I weighed my chances. _Should I do it?_

Then, I felt a burning sensation on my back. _Shit. Screw it. I'm gonna do it._ With a wavering confidence, I leaped to the other side. I then just noticed that Luxa was extending her arm at the edge of the bank, with Ripred pulling and supporting her from behind.

I extended my arm, reaching for Luxa's. I was touching her fingers when my momentum failed me. I plummeted down, heading for the rushing river. Reacting quickly, I stabbed my dagger into the wall. It dragged down, finally stopping about ten feet away from the river.

I grabbed another dagger and slowly and carefully climbed up. A tail was waiting for me. I didn't want to pull Ripred down with my weight, so I ignored it and reached my destination, heaving myself up to the top.

"We thought we lost you!" said Luxa.

"Don't worry. I won't die that easily," I said after a few breaths later.

I could tell Luxa was itching to ask me something, but Ripred interrupted her. "I'm sure we would like to hear some stories from the Overlander, but we're having a war at this moment. So move it, move it, move it!" instructed Ripred, herding us all from the open bank and into a tunnel. He forced us along for a few minutes until we were well out of sight of the tunnel entrance. At a small chamber, he gave the order to halt. "Stop you. Sit you. Slow your hearts."

Everyone did as instructed, sinking onto the floor of the tunnel. My echolocation worked now. I caught my breath while Lizzie's shoulders shook. She was crying. _AGAIN. Will she ever stop!?_

The only roach, whose antennas had drooped down over its head, crawled to her and touched her with a feeler. "Thank you. To weep when Tick has lost time."

She nodded. Luxa sat beside her, lightly stroking her hair. Ripred was standing there, watching and waiting. "You probably think less of me, me crying over a roach," whimpered Lizzie.

"You do not yet know the Underlanders if you think we lack tears," said Luxa. "We weep. We weep, and not just for ourselves."

"Not for Tick. Not for the roaches."

 _So the surviving roach was Temp, I see._

"I have not wept since the death of my parents," said Luxa quietly. "But I am thought to be unnatural in this respect."

I scoffed. _Unnatural. Right..._

After the waterworks had ended for little Lizzie, Luxa softly said, "Lizzie, if you make it to Regalia, and I do not... tell Vikus that I understood."

"Okay. I will," she said, ending with a sniff.

Luxa's stroking went to her neck and she gasped. "You are fevered! We must attend to it at once!"

Ripred had the blue-bottled liquid ready in his paws, shoving it into the hands of Luxa. Lizzie lifted her head up and reluctantly opened her mouth, letting Luxa drip the medicine in.

When Ripred spoke, his voice lacked its usual snide tone. "Take heart, Lizzie. Your father is nearby."

"Really!? How long can we get there?"

"An hour's walk, no more," said Ripred. "But so are his guards. We must all proceed with extreme caution. Bind your feet in webs, speak not, and stay close behind me." He indicated to me and Lizzie. "We had rare luck at the bridge, thanks to the Overlander."

Gox quickly spun thick silk slippers to pad our feet. I tossed mine away and slipped into the new ones. It felt more comfy. Lizzie did the same. Lizzie's hat light suddenly faded. I then saw how low the light intensity of Henry's one torch was. Lizzie was about to cram the construction hat into her bag when she realized that her bag had a small hole in it. Two batteries almost rolled down to the ground.

Cursing softly, she shoved the hat in, took the batteries and fitted them into the flashlight, switching the light on. It worked, but it was dimmer than the hat. It would have to do, for now.

"Once we have your father, we will not need light. Ares and Aurora can get us home in the dark," said Luxa encouragingly.

"They're going to have to," said Lizzie.

We regrouped on Ripred's command. The tunnel was quite big, so Temp was to be behind him, with Lizzie on the roach. Henry and Gox were to walk beside them. After that would be Ares and Aurora flying along. So that left me and Luxa guarding the rear on foot, with our blades unsheathed, again. Satisfied with the grouping, Ripred gave a nod and we started off, heading deep into enemy territory.

We went in without a sound, barely daring to breathe. Echolocation said there were a lot of pebbles on the ground. A good measure to listen for enemies if they intrude.

This was a stealth mission. I couldn't afford to get bored, so I denied it by counting the stones. After about half an hour, Ripred stopped at a bend of the tunnel. Everyone pulled up behind, trying not to trip. His nose twitched furiously with his being crouching low. I readied my dagger, using his sniffing to echolocate. A pair of rats was waiting.

They sprang out of the bend, pouncing at Ripred. I couldn't attack from that far off, so it was time for the rat to shine. Ripred ripped off one rat's throat with his fangs and blinded another with his claws in an instant. In another flash, he stabbed the chest of the blinded rat with one paw and crushed the jaw of the throat-less with the other. Both rats were dead before they could even hit the ground.

That confirmed my suspicions. He is definitely a Rager.

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 **And there we go! It's done! I'm sorry about the delay. I should have enough time to write the next chapter, which would be about 2 weeks later. No promises, though. As usual, please rate and review with or without criticism.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright! I'm back in business! No more dilly-dallying this time, for now. I got my computer back, so I'm gonna upload the chapters back to .**  
 **Behold, chapter 11!**

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Ripred wiped the blood with his muzzle on one of the dead rats and spoke in a whisper. "Those were the guards to this passage. We are about to enter open space. Stay against the wall, single file, for the earth is unstable and the fall immeasurable."

Everyone except me nodded their heads numbly, stunned by his ferocity. He broke into a smile, which looks more menacing than before and said, "Don't worry. I'm on your side, remember?"

 _Like I didn't know that already._

Around the bend of the tunnel was the opening. Ripred made a right turn, and we peeled off in a single file behind him, me being the last. A narrow path led along the side of a canyon. When Lizzie shone her light into it, we saw nothing but blackness. She shivered, probably scared of what was in store for her or us. "And the fall is immeasurable," she mumbled.

Good thing I learned echolocation. I used the slight shuffle of Henry's feet to navigate around us. I couldn't detect where the ground of the ground of the canyon was. I was pretty sure the bats couldn't too, judging by how they flew and how nervous and ready they were to save anyone who fell.

After about 50 meters or so, we reached the more solid ground that fanned out from one end of the canyon. A natural arch of stone framed a wide road, worn smooth by many rat feet. An open and dark space. The best place to assassinate. Ripred picked up speed as we crossed under the arch, signaling us to hurry.

Everyone but Luxa and Henry, who instinctively were in the air mounting the bats, raced down the road.

The path ended abruptly at a deep circular pit with walls as smooth as ice. A faint light burned in the pit revealing a furry creature hunched over a stone slab, fiddling with something. It seemed to look like a very weary rat, but echolocation says otherwise. It had no tail, no claws and no sharp teeth. It was a human, a male, a father. Lizzie's father. But not quite as expected.

The dim light illuminated his face when he looked at us. He was very skinny and was more frail than an elderly, even though he looks to be in his late 40s. Lizzie instantly recognized him with wide and relieved eyes and dismounted Temp, rushing for her dad. "Dad!" she shouted.

The man squinted up and tried to stand but failed miserably, falling on all fours and lifted one hand to help tilt his own head back.

Luxa and Henry landed beside him, helped the poor soul up on Aurora's back and carried him up.

I then saw what he fully looked like. He had snow white hair and beard, wore a cloak of rat fur over a very skeletal body, and ragged pants with torn and worn down shoes.

Lizzie clutched his hands onto her own, shaking with tears. _Oh, for the love of god! Goddammit!_ "Dad? Dad, it's me. It's me, Lizzie."

"Li-zzie?" he said, as if he hadn't heard that name in his entire life. His voice was rough and scratchy.

"Yes, Lizzie! That's my nickname at home! Elizabeth is my real name."

"E-li-za-burth? Who- who is that? Who are you?" he said, rubbing his eyes to try to recognize Lizzie but failed to do so. Well, that was expected. A few years in this hellhole would likely cause anemia.

His eyelids were starting to close. "Just... want to sleep..."

Lizzie shook her head. "No, no, no, no, no... Don't sleep! Stay with me! Please!" She started to shake him awake.

Ripred put a paw on her shoulder. "Let him rest, he needs it," he whispered softly. She immediately stopped the shaking.

"Where is the medicine you gave me, Ripred? Where is it!?" She was panicking and hyperventilating at the same time. I couldn't blame her this time, considering I was the one who killed her mother and brother. Her father was at his limit, and I knew she didn't want to lose another family member.

Ripred gave her the bottle and she dumped half of it down his throat. "We must fly now, Lizzie. We shall heal him properly in Regalia," urged Luxa.

That was when I noticed something amiss. One member was not here. Using echolocation, I 'saw' Henry, who was away from everyone, staring above. _Oh. Yes._

" _No!_ " screamed my subconscious.

Dammit, he's back. _Why do you care again?_

" _Why would you want this to happen?_ "

 _To fight. Duh._

" _Isn't fighting wrong?_ "

 _Goddammit, you are my subconscious! A part of me! You of all people should know why I do it!_

" _... I still think it's wrong._ "

 _Well, nobody asked for your opinion. Now stop pouting like a little girl and watch._

"Henry, help me secure him." She tried to tie Lizzie's dad to Aurora with a length of silk that Gox was rapidly spinning. "Henry?" said Luxa again.

"No, Luxa, we have no need to hurry now."

It was a strange answer for everyone to hear. But not for me and Ripred. "No, I believe Henry has taken care of everything," said Ripred.

"Henry had to," he said, and lifted his fingers for a whistle. Suddenly, my hand found itself grabbing a throwing knife and propelling it straight to his arm, stopping his whistle. The knife impaled into his hand, with him gnashing his teeth to prevent himself from screaming in pain.

 _WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO LET HIM DO IT!_

" _It was just a thought! I didn't know that would actually happen!_ "

 _Control your damn urges, kid! You're making me lose control!_

" _S-sorry_."

 _Don't you 'sorry' me! Just- just go to sleep! Don't think of anything that will provoke me. Got it!?_

" _Yeah... I'll do that._ " His voice faded out. Finally.

Henry whistled nevertheless, but took a great effort to do so. He then pulled out the knife and grabbed his hand in pain. Luxa's reaction was a very pale face, with the silk rope slipping from her hands and falling to the ground.

"Ripred?" asked Lizzie.

"It seems I am not the only spy among us, Lizzie," said Ripred wryly. "A member of the royal family, too."

"You mean, Henry...?" He nodded before she could finish. Lizzie blurted out. "But, what about Luxa?"

"Sorry, cousin," said Henry urgently to Luxa. Or was it painfully? I couldn't tell the difference. Maybe both. He took out my knife and threw it aside. "But I had no choice. We were headed for disaster under Vikus. He would ally us to the weakest, when our only real chance of survival is to ally ourselves with those who are most powerful. We will join forces with the rats and rule together, you and I."

I almost laughed at loud at how ridiculous it sounded. But I didn't want to provoke the Queen in her current state, so I let her speak for herself.

She spoke calmer than I thought. "Not now, Henry. Not ever."

"You must, Luxa, you have no choice. You must join with us or die," said Henry coldly, but there was a tremor in his voice. He was afraid. Typical him.

"This is as good a day as any," said Luxa. "Perhaps better." Her voice was a little strained but regal with authority. Quite unexpected, given the situation.

"So they promised you a throne, did they? Really, Henry, you are not fool enough to believe they will deliver it," said Ripred, breaking into a laugh. His words perfectly matched my thoughts.

"They will deliver it. Together we will rid the Underland of crawlers and spinners and share their land among us," said Henry.

I coughed. That got his attention. " _Share_. Right... How stupid can you be?"

"I care not of your opinion, Overlander," he spat. "I am tired of having cowards and weaklings as allies. The rats, at least, are not guilty of that. Together, we will protect each other. Together, we will rule. Together, we will be safe. It has been decided."

"Says the weakling."

"Together, together," said Ripred in a singsong voice. "What a lot of togetherness you are planning. And what a lot of solitude awaits you. Ah, here are your friends now."

I grabbed my daggers, ready and thirsty for the awaiting battle. I used echolocation to count. I gave up after fifty. The rats fanned out quickly and circled the group. Most of them were laughing, delighted at the rich catch before them. They won't laugh when I kill them.

Lizzie tugged onto Ripred's fur, wanting to know what to do. He signalled her to go to Temp, which she did quickly. He then gave me a slow wink. "Think we can take them, you and I?"

I grinned. "My pleasure."

The circle widened, leaving a gap. A huge silver rat strode into the space. Jammed over one ear was a gold crown, clearly designed for a human head. For royalty. Luxa inhaled sharply.

"King Gorger," said Ripred, giving a low bow. "I did not hope we would have the honor of your presence here."

"An unfortunate crawler told us you drowned, Ripred," said the king in a low voice.

"Yes, well, that was the plan," said Ripred, nodding. "But so often plans go awry."

"We must thank you for bringing the warrior so neatly into our paws. It was Henry's job really, but no matter as long as he is here. I wanted to be sure. I wanted to see him for myself before I killed him. So this is he?" He peered at me. "How... unexpected."

I resisted the urge to scowl. _Don't let Ripred's plan go down just because of one emotion_ , I reminded myself.

"Oh, do not judge him too quickly," said Ripred. "I have found him most delightfully full of surprises." I smiled internally. He made his way around the circle, occasionally lifting a front leg to scratch his nose. Each time he lifted his paw the rats near him flinched. "Clawsin... Bloodlet... now break my heart, Razor, is that you? You have no idea how it hurts me to see you in His Majesty's company."

The latter rat stopped making eye contact with Ripred. _Was he feeling ashamed?_

Ripred came up behind Henry and nudged him forward. "Go, go, go, go. Stand with your friends." Henry tripped and fell into place beside King Gorger, stepping on his tail. The other rats laughed, but not the king, who whipped his tail out from under Henry and slashed Gox in half.

 _Three down._ _One more to go._

The rats stopped laughing. "Why has everyone stopped laughing?" said King Gorger. "Go on, laugh!" he ordered, and the rats did, but it was more forced than the previous one. The rat king stretched out on the ground in a pose of complete relaxation, but I could see his muscles were still tense with anger.

"Who's next? Come, do not be shy. Shall we take care of the pup? She looks soon to expire, anyway." He trained his ratty eyes onto Lizzie. Ripred twitched his paw very slightly.

My legs stepped forward without my consent.

 _What are you doing?_

" _Helping you... To fight with the king, I mean,_ " said my other self.

 _You're making it seem like I'm defending her! Ugh, nevermind._ _I intended to do that anyways._

Gorger was amused. "Ah, the warrior. How very brave of you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's just stop the talking and do the fighting." I took my stance, hungry for battle. The rats readied to charge, but Gorger stopped them with a wave of his paw.

"Hm." He smacked his tail on the ground. The rats nearest to it backed off. "Do not be too confident, Warrior. You are underestimating your opponent."

"You sure? Because, the way I see it, you look like one ordinary rat to me."

A few rats whispered at each other. That did it. I could see some pride of his shattered as he whipped his tail towards my head, aiming to kill me then and there.

Using my Rager abilities, I grabbed his tail at the very last second. There was a look of surprise on Gorger's face, but it was only momentarily. I loosened my grip and he retracted his tail back to him. "That was luck. You will not have any next time."

"Luck, huh? Keep believing that."

He lunged at me, doing a feint on the left with his left paw and actually intending to attack on the right. I grabbed his attacking paw by the wrist and using my other hand, stabbed him in the shoulder.

He paid that no heed as he continued with a flurry of attacks, using his claws, paws and fangs to disable me as much as possible. He was like Ripred, only without the Rager part. But still, his attacks were quite ferocious. I had some difficulties trying to block a few, even with my Rager. This was getting fun.

I walloped his stomach, but he saw that coming. He descended his paws at the edge of where I would kick, softening the impact and lifting himself up on my leg, wrapping his tail onto my leg to reel himself to me. Man, this guy's good.

I quickly shifted my captured leg to the back, forcing him to let go of me. Once free, I did a barrage of punches, kicks and slashes for payback. Gorger had to pace back to fight against them. The fiercer my strikes, the more steps he had to take to defend himself. Good. My plan was working.

Everyone tailed behind the scene, even the group of rats. They probably did not want to be left behind and wanted to see their king in action.

I 'saw' Luxa drawing out her sword and wanting to rush in to help, but Ripred stopped her by a flick of his tail.

"Don't help him. He's doing well on his own. And to think he forgot about me." _Oh crap, I forgot about Ripred. He's_ _so gonna kill me_.

"Besides, we have other matters to attend," he said, gesturing to the rats. The crowd was split into two: Spectators and fighters. There are two battles being fought now. Me against Gorger, and Ripred, Luxa and her bat against half of the rat army. I focused more on mine, not wanting to know theirs to prevent distraction.

Once we reached the edge of the canyon, which had a narrow road, Gorger had injuries. His shoulder had a deep gash, his left arm had significantly more wounds than his right, and tufts of his fur were torn out. I, on the other hand, had lesser injuries, but that didn't mean I was proud of it.

Gorger tried to flex his left arm. It still worked, but that made him hiss in pain. He was panting, but very slightly so that I would not notice and say anything about it. I used that opportunity to taunt him.

"Met your match, _King_ _Gorger_? Do you want to try fighting me again? Oh wait, you _can't_."

He gritted his teeth, his fury practically seething in them.

"King Gorger! Let us fight the human!" shouted one rat in the midst of the smaller crowd. Murmurs of agreement filled the tense air.

"Oh? What's this? You would rather call in backup to fight me? Me, a mere human? Well, considering your Highness's condition, I suppose that's only fair."

"Do not speak to our king in that tone, Overlander!" argued another rat with its paw in the air. Most of the rats loudly agreed. It was getting noisy.

"SILENCE!" yelled Gorger. The screaming immediately stopped.

"So, what's it gonna be, _Gorgie_?"

His reply was a laugh. "You think you are _winning_? Do not be so arrogant at your success, Warrior. You do not know the true meaning of victory." He then did a full frontal assault with his quick speed. I instantly shifted my stance and cupped my hands forward, bracing for impact. Then I realized that my idea was a huge mistake. It left me defenseless. _Shit_.

He saw that chance and within no more than an inch from my body, smirked and hurdled over my head. His tail was in a hooked position. I knew what was going on. I had to think fast. With only a second to save myself, I arched my back downwards and opened my mouth, chomping on his tail that was aiming for my throat.

He clearly felt the pain, but recovered very quickly, spinning his body mid-air and slashing his sharp claws on my right arm, ripping my sleeve off and embedding deep wounds; the sudden numbness making me drop my dagger. That forced my teeth to open out of reflex, and his tail was free.

Before I could let my body hit the ground in defeat, I used my remaining working arm onto the floor to support myself and launched a savage kick straight onto Gorger's back, towards the group of rats.

He twisted his body around and shouted a name. "Bloodclaw!" That rat, who seems to have the body of a wrestler, rushed in front and positioned itself behind Gorger's rocketing momentum with its knees bent and arms extended to him. Sly rat.

Gorger made contact with its paws and bounced himself back into the fray with his jaw wide open. When he got close, I did an uppercut on his chin, clamping his mouth shut and his tongue bleeding.

His reaction was quick, inserting his tail into one of my many injuries of my right arm and pulling my left hand down with his paw, causing my right arm and myself to drop to the floor, putting me in a kneeling position. The sudden downward force dislocated my ankle and bled my knees. I could barely feel them.

But worse of all, I was bowing down to a damn rat. A _rat_! How freaking embarrassing.

"Met your match, _Warrior_?" he mocked back. I craned my neck to him in utter fury and rage. He continued. "Remember what I said, Overlander?" He spat at last word, playing with my open cuts with his tail. I flinched at the pain. One emotion peaked the others. Rage.

"'You do not know the true meaning of victory.' At that time, you were 'winning'. You were 'achieving victory'. But look at you now." He shook his head in false sympathy. "Kneeling, _begging_ for mercy. How disappointing for a Warrior."

"I want to kill you, but I cannot. I have to let my army play with you. I have to let _myself_ play with you." His tail went into my arm and forcefully shoved my flesh out, giving it a bigger hole with fresh blood oozing out. I screamed silently.

"Painful, is it not?" He released his tail grip and instantly replaced it with his heavy foot, cracking my bones on my hands. I grunted. My vision was getting hazy. Was it tears?

"I asked you a question, Warrior." He proceeded to claw my right arm. I hissed.

"Answer my question. Answer it!" He slapped my face with his tail repeatedly. "Come on, Warrior! Speak! Speak to the king!" He laughed haughtily in his bloody annoying voice.

He stopped the smacking. My checks were sore as hell. "What is the matter, Warrior? Rat got your tongue?" He forced my mouth open and pulled out my tongue with his disgusting paw. He chuckled. "Or are you not the Warrior we believed? Hmph. Maybe you are not. After all, how can a human Warrior stand against me, king of the gnawers?" He picked up my dagger with his tail and held it on his right paw, twirling it around like a toy. He held my dagger high up and dug it deep into my shoulder. I gritted my teeth.

"There. That is better." He folded his arms and smiled in satisfaction.

Suddenly, my legs went from kneeling to squatting, and they jumped to Gorger's head, leg-locking his neck and suffocating him. My sudden action shocked him, back-pedaling out of reflex. My body took that chance and lifted itself onto Gorger's snout, punching his head over and over.

He tried to stop my attacks by grabbing my thighs, but my body moved quicker. My legs released the lock and in mid-air, punted him hard.

He went flying to the band of rats, but not before scratching my legs with his claws. Bloodclaw tried to stop him, but his momentum was too much. He was knocked down with plenty of other rats; a few even falling down into the abyss.

As for me, I couldn't even feel the pain anymore. I couldn't feel my hands and legs. I couldn't even feel my entire body. I felt my anger rising tremendously. But there was something else. Ecstasy. Something was wrong. Happiness and anger aren't supposed to be together. What was going on?

Then, it hit me. It hit me hard. It had happened only once, when my Rager was first unlocked. This was the moment I feared. The only situation where dread fills my heart.

I lost control.

"I'm back, baby!"

* * *

 **And done! Dammit, this came out more than two weeks. So sorry for that. There shouldn't be any more delays. Thanks for enduring the super long wait! I appreciate it a lot. As usual, rate, review and criticize all you want!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Finally! I got time to finish this chapter!**

* * *

Damn it. Damn it all. To think I lost control again. The thought was somewhat comical, and I smiled mentally.

That resulted in my own lips curling to a grin, but much more devilish. My Rager cracked its neck and tested my body. Once it was finished, it whipped out another two daggers and charged at the rats.

The rats, who had safely plopped down their king, charged as well, but with a battlecry.

My Rager laughed maniacally. "Yes! That's it!" Blades were slashing every rat in my vicinity. One rat tried to sneak up from behind, but my Rager saw that coming. It flipped my dagger upright and stabbed him in the waist with one hand while still fending off other rats with the other.

Soon, I was in the middle of the gnawers. They quickly spread out and circled me. "No more running, Overlander!" said one rat.

My Rager chuckled. "Run? Who said I was running? I can make you all run, if that's what you want."

That remark somehow enraged it. "Attack!" it commanded. All of the rats charged at the same time. My body shifted its position, where one hand was in front and the other was behind. It patiently waited. _Oh shit. Please don't tell me it's gonna do what I think it's doing._

When they were in range, my foot turned, and my body spun. All I saw was a swirl of red, glistening blood and a blur of rats. It was a total massacre. I almost hurled. God, I hate spinning.

It went on for a few minutes before one rat lunged and intercepted, causing the spin to stop. The rat put so much strength into that lucky shot that we flew all the way back to the edge of the canyon, cracking the fragile floor.

That made my head jerk back and hit the ground, regaining my body back. The pain was back. But that wasn't the only thing that returned. Gorger was back as well. He was the one who knocked me down. He held my legs together with his tail, rendering myself pinned.

"Hello, Warrior," he said with a smirk, and then proceeded to swipe his claws at me. I narrowly blocked it with my daggers. I couldn't activate my Rager powers, no matter how hard I tried. Guess I'm all on my own now.

Gorger's attacks proved to be much more difficult to fend off without my Rager. It felt as though his power had increased tremendously. The truth hurts like hell, literally in this case.

My limbs were getting tired as seconds passed. They were bruised, bloodier and much more sore than before. I don't think I could hold on much longer. I heard thundering footsteps quickly heading towards us. The rats. Gorger used my distraction to swing his paw aimed directly to my face, which I dodged in the nick of time. His paw went past its target and impaled the rocks beneath us.

There was a cracking sound. Then another. And another. Gorger's ears twitched and he stopped his attacks. We both looked at each other in the eye and knew what was going to happen next.

"Oh, great. Look at what you've done," I said as he unwrapped his tail against my legs and made a break for it.

"Move, move, move!" he boomed, ordering his rat slaves to get out of his way. Despite the situation I was in, despite barely having any strength to move my arms and legs, I laughed wholeheartedly. So this is what Sandwich meant by "AS LIFE MAY BE DEATH AND DEATH LIFE AGAIN REAPS."

"King Gorger?" I heard one rat ask. _A bit too late to ask that_ , I thought as a huge chunk of the ground caved in, crumbling like a cookie. It swallowed all the rats and one human, me. Screams and cries could be heard echoing around, distorting my echolocation.

As I fell, I let my daggers go, too tired to hold them anymore. My mini-flashlight slipped out of my pocket. I got it and switched it on with my teeth. A spectacle of swarming rats were crashing down like an avalanche. I sighed. Might as well enjoy the view.

My arms and legs were outstretched. So this is how I die, huh? Down into a bottomless pit, drowning in a pile of giant rat bodies. I smiled. What an anti-climactic death for a legendary Overlander such as myself.

But then, I heard a particular shout. It wasn't those rough, scratchy and deep voices of the rats. This one sounded more human. I shone my light to the source and, in the midst of all the gnawers, I saw... Henry? What the hell!? What was _he_ doing here? How did I not notice him earlier?

Too many questions, too little answers. Just like the beginning. Great.

Just then, I saw a flash of wing. Ares. Of course. He would save Henry, and I would fall to my death. He dove in with the speed of a missile, trying to avoid the rats as much as possible. Some rats did a few injuries on him, but it was Gorger who did the most, giving him four deep claw marks on his cheek. He brushed it off and continued speeding away. Wow, he was that desperate to save his bond.

But then he overshot. "Ares!" Henry screamed a plea. Was it a mistake? Did the cries of agony of the rats disrupted his echolocation so much that he overshot?

The latter thought was debunked when I landed on fur. Ares's bat fur. The impact almost knocked me out, but wanting to surprise Ripred for that, I held onto my consciousness and Ares's fur.

Once I did, he rocketed back up, dodging the rats again, only this time it was more difficult. I couldn't blame him, considering that he wanted to protect me. I kept the flashlight back into my pocket and laid down onto Ares, resting a bit, trying to catch my breath. I didn't care what happened to Henry.

The next thing I knew, we were back up onto the ground. Luxa had Lizzie's father strapped on Aurora and Lizzie beside him. Temp bolted onto Ares behind me.

I turned my head, facing Ripred eye to eye. He had three rats behind him, probably Razor and whatever their names were, and had blood all over him. I don't think it was his blood though. He gave me a bitter smile. "Delightfully full of surprises."

I managed to cough out a short laugh. "What're you gonna do now, Ripred?"

"Run, boy. Run like the river. Fly you high, Ryan the Overlander!" said Ripred as he took off down the road, together with his three companions.

"Fly you high too, Ripred!" I shouted, as Ares and Aurora sped over the rat's head. When we were out of range, I coughed. I swallowed it down after a few more.

We flew over the canyon, where Gorger, his army and Henry lay dead deep beneath. The canyon ended, and the bats headed into a large tunnel that twisted and turned in every way.

I got rid of my tension and relaxed, closing my eyes to rest for a while. "I did not know, Overlander. I swear to you I did not know," whispered the black bat.

"I know, I know," I whispered back, patting his soft fur. There was nothing more than silence as we flew.

During my peaceful silence, Ares interrupted. "Overlander, we have troubles," he whispered.

"What is it?" I asked, a little annoyed.

"Aurora and I, we do not know which direction leads back to Regalia," said Ares.

"You what!?" I hissed, arching my back up. The pain had subsided a little, but enough for me to move. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

My savior dipped his head down in shame. "I thought I knew the way. But the tunnel leads to an area uncharted by fliers."

I sighed. "Does Luxa have a plan?"

There was a pause. I assumed that Ares was communicating with Aurora. Then Ares said, "Luxa cannot speak."

Oh, right. Forgot about her trauma.

"To complicate matters, Aurora has a torn wing that must soon be mended if we are to continue," Ares added.

"So the great Warrior is in charge now, huh?" I mumbled. "Find a safe spot to land," I commanded.

The twisting tunnel soon opened out over a large river. The source was a magnificent waterfall that poured out of a stone arch and fell a hundred feet to the river below. Above the arch was a natural stone ledge, about ten feet deep. Ares and Aurora coasted over to it and landed. The riders slid onto the stone.

Lizzie wrapped Luxa with a blanket and held hands with her father, playing with his palm with her thumb. One look at Lizzie's eyes kept me from helping her. She didn't want any.

I turned to Aurora. Her left wing had a long rip that oozed blood. Ouch. Her wingspan must be a huge tendon to target. "I can sew that up," I said.

"Tend to the others first," said Aurora. She fluttered over to Luxa and wrapped her good wing around the girl.

I looked around. Luxa was shaken and probably wracked with grief about Henry's betrayal. Lizzie was trying to coax herself and wait for her father's awakening. Her dad was sleeping away, but not in a good way. I have to wait for him to wake up to feed his half-starved stomach. Temp was just lying on the ground and clicking softly. Everyone was pretty depressed. The only 'others' needed to be 'tended' was me and Ares. "I don't think there even is an 'others'," I mouthed out.

Ares's back was hunched so low that the extreme sorrow was clearly evident; the pressure of losing his bond almost destroying him from the inside.

I was going to ask him whether he wanted to be patched up, but he cut me off. "I am fine, Overlander. Tend to your own wounds. I do not need help." Guess I have to first fix Aurora up then, considering her wing would be numb after I did.

I opened the first aid kit. There was a pack of needles and several spools of spinners' silk in the first aid kit. I picked one of the needles at random and went through the strings, choosing a thin but strong one.

I walked towards her and cleaned her wound as much as I could, making sure I didn't miss any blood. She told me to apply an ointment that would numb the area, which I complied and thought of using for my own injuries. Then, I began to sew up the rip. I would like to do it quickly, but fingers weren't so intricate, so I did it slowly and carefully.

Every little mistake I did, I softly cursed and apologized to her. Aurora tried to sit motionless, but kept reacting to the pain involuntarily.

"Sorry, sorry." I kept apologizing.

"No, I am fine," she would reply. But I knew it hurts.

When I was done, I was sweating beads from all that concentration and lack of ventilation. I took a few steps back to view my work. The wing was back in one piece and looked quite alright. "It's good to go," I said to her, and she gingerly stretched her wing.

"It is well sewn, Overlander," she said. "It should hold to Regalia." She looked at me. "Now you must address your own wounds. I cannot fly, anyway, until the numbness leaves my wing."

I nodded and started to do so. I threw the used needle away in the darkness where Lizzie's light couldn't reach and took a new one and the same string from the kit, not forgetting the ointment, and sewed my shoulder. Once I started, I winced. The ointment was not as strong as the anesthetic in the Overland. No wonder Aurora kept reacting to the pain. But I had to keep going. If Aurora can bear it, so can I. I continued sewing and then patched myself up with the bandages in the kit.

When I'd taken care of them, I decided to ask Temp a question, since he seemed to be the least depressed of them all. "Temp, do you hear any rats?"

"Hear you the rats, hear you?"

"No, I don't. That's why I asked you."

"Hear you the rats, hear you?" he repeated.

I groaned loudly. "Can you not be so cryptic for once and-" That was when I heard a scraping sound. I used echolocation and 'saw' rats gathering, hundreds of them, on the banks beside the river. Several were sitting back on their haunches, their claws scraping at the chalky stone wall that flanked the waterfall. A couple tried to climb it and slid back to the ground. They began to scrape footholds in the surface. It would take time for them to scale the wall, but I knew they would do it. They would find a way.

Crap. What now? I can barely muster enough strength to fight ten rats, let alone hundreds. Temp could shield us, but with the sheer amount of enemies, I think he could only stop half a rat. Luxa was busy grieving. Lizzie was busy taking care of her father, whom I bet was too sick to lift a finger. Aurora and Ares could fight them off, but only for a while. The only option was to escape, which I hated. I hated that option the most. It was a cowardly move, but what choice do I have?

Argh! Damn my dilemma! Where the hell is Ripred when you needed him the most!? We need a freaking miracle to get out of this alive!

Then, the miracle happened, just when I thought of it.

"Lizzie?" said a puzzled voice. "Lizzie, is that you?"

I turned around. Lizzie snapped out of her daze and looked at the source of the voice, happy as a lark. "Dad! Oh, I missed you so much!" She hugged him tight. He had weakly propped himself up onto one elbow. He was shaking from the exertion and his breath was shallow, but there was a look of recognition in his eyes. He got his sanity back.

I sighed. "I'm sure this family reunion is great and all, but we have an _entire rat army_ heading in our direction!"

Lizzie's father grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled away from her arms. "And you are...?" He turned to me in confusion.

I unfolded my arms. "Look, let's just skip the formalities and get on with being alive! Do you have any plans for us to escape?"

He nodded. "Right... Right. Where are we?"

"We're above a waterfall in the Dead Land. A bunch of rats are trying to scale the wall. The bats says that this area is uncharted by them. We're lost," I replied.

"How far are the rats from us now?" he asked.

Lizzie shone her light to where I was looking. The rats were halfway there. "About forty meters."

"How about light?"

"Lizzie and I got a flashlight each," I said, showing him mine.

"I don't think mine will hold on much longer," said Lizzie. As she spoke, as on cue, her light dimmed.

"We got to go back to Regalia."

"Well, duh."

"It's in the north of the Underland."

I caught his idea. "I don't have a compass," I told him.

"I know. I'm going to make one." He looked around and locked his eyes onto Aurora. "That bat. How did you sew her up?"

"Metal needle. Got it." I grabbed a needle from the kit and handed it to him. He pulled out a stone and rubbed it along the needle in short, quick strokes. Lizzie eyed at it in fascination. "What else do you need?"

"Get some kind of bowl. Dump out that medicine if you have to," he said. "And fill it with water."

I took the last water basket we had, filled it to the brim and gave it to him.

"Is that a lodestone?" Lizzie asked in excitement.

"Correct, Lizzie. There was a pile of them back in my pit. I kept one in my pocket just in case I ever escaped. I had some pieces of metal back there, too, but nothing the right size. This needle is perfect," said her dad. Once he was done talking, he gently slid the needle into the water. It floated. Then, to Lizzie's amazement, the needle turned forty-five degrees to the right and held steady. "There. North. It may be off a few degrees, but it's close enough."

The sound of claws digging into stone rebounded into my ears and I 'saw' the rats had almost reached the ledge. "Aurora, can you fly now?"

"I think I must," said Aurora, clearly aware of the rats.

I gave Ares a slight nudge. "Ares, wake up. I'll point you the direction of Regalia. Can you stay on course?"

He roused himself back up. "I can stay well enough on course if I know the direction to fly."

"Good. Mount up, we're going home!" I called out to the rest, copying Vikus.

Everyone did as instructed. I had Temp to ride with Luxa in case she woke up, and helped Lizzie's dad up onto Ares, with Lizzie already mounting Ares.

I was about to take back the water basket when I 'saw' a rat had already reached the ledge. I leaped onto Ares and pointed north. "That's north. There's Regalia." The bats immediately took off, leaving the basket and a group of cursing rats behind.

Ares followed the tunnel that headed north, and after about an hour he called to me: "I know now where we fly."

They flew straight for Regalia, down wide, open caverns.

And below was carnage. There were multiple species all staying very still, all dead. Lizzie directed her light down in curiousity and covered her mouth in shock. She quickly switched it off and rested her head onto her father's lap, talking about science and stuff. As for me, I laid my back down onto Ares and took a quick nap, regaining my strength.

Horns blasted into my sensitive ears and jolted me awake. We were back. I looked down vaguely and saw people waving their arms, shouting. Neither me nor Luxa responded.

Luxa wasn't even looking. From the moment we had taken off, she had wrapped her arms around Aurora's neck and closed her eyes to the world.

The doors were flung open at the stadium, and the city appeared below them. There was cheering and waving of flags. The palace came into view, and Ares dove for the High Hall.

We coasted in, and the exhausted bats simply landed on their bellies and slid along the floor until they stopped. Underlanders swarmed us all. A couple of people laid Lizzie's dad on a stretcher and whisked him away, with Lizzie following them. The bats could barely protest as they were carried away, too, more in need of rest than medical attention.

I resisted all attempts to be loaded onto a stretcher. I didn't want and didn't need to be hospitalized. I was fine on my own.

Luxa, on the other hand, just stood there, pale and lost, not even noticing the whirlwind around her. Her violet eyes were vacant, and her hands hung limply at her sides. She looked so weak, so fragile. How would she lead her people when she is Queen?

Wait, why am I so sympathetic about this? This isn't me.

 _"Can I help her?"_ my other self pleaded.

I gave out a long, mental exhale. _Fine, do whatever you want. I don't care anymore. But make sure I don't do anything unnatural._

I could've sworn I saw him dancing around in joy, but whatever. I closed my eyes, and for the first time ever, allowed him to take control.

My eyes opened, and the first thing _he_ did was walking towards Luxa and standing beside her. There was total silence between them. _He_ broke it after a few seconds. "You can't be like that forever, you know? Accept the truth, and face reality. I did that when I-"

No! Don't reveal my truth! You're getting too carried away!

"...Nevermind." She didn't reply. Awkward. This is why I didn't like talking to others. It would be either sarcastic or threatening.

The room cleared out, and I saw Vikus hurrying to us. He stopped a small distance away, deep lines of concern cut into his face.

"Henry was a traitor. He wanted the throne of the rats." _He_ could've said more, but _he_ didn't want to. At least, not yet. "I'll explain later," _he_ added.

Vikus looked at Luxa and opened his arms. Shee stood, still frozen, staring at him like when Lizzie first found her father: lost and confused.

"It's Vikus, Luxa. It's your grandpa."

She blinked. A small tear formed at the corner of her eye. I could see a battle taking place on her face as she tried to stop the feelings rising up inside her.

Eventually, the feelings won, and she ran into Vikus's arms, hugging him tight and weeping like a little girl; her cries muffled by his clothes. He embraced her and patted her head softly; his own tears leaking down, smiling warmly.

 _His_ hand instinctively ran down to _his_ left, where Henry's sword was.

* * *

 **A/N: Just so you know, when Ryan's other personality takes control over his body, all of _his_ pronouns will be in _italics_ for you readers to differentiate. If you guys want me to change it, please tell me.**

 **I'M SO SORRY! I had school (on the holidays!) and tons of homework to do, so I had very little time to write this chapter. This might continue on for *who knows how long*. So be prepared to wait patiently! Thank you for taking your time to read this! Leave your reviews and don't forget to criticize!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Second last chapter for book one! It absolutely is! I think. Maybe. Probably. Should be. I don't know. Oh well.**

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Solovet appeared shortly after Vikus and, having kissed Luxa's wet cheeks, told me to follow her.

"To where?" I asked as I walked behind her. I was back in control. _He_ had done _his_ job.

"To treat your injuries." She said it so generously that I couldn't say no. It's weird to see a commander being so nice to people. Often it's always barking orders and being harsh and all, to me at least. Maybe she thought that being harsh at her superior reputation might dwindle the confidence of her soldiers. Yeah, that's probably it.

She led me down to the hospital section of the palace and stayed beside me throughout the operation that the doctors immediately did once they saw me. Talk about special. While they cleaned and newly stitched my wounds, I told Solovet everything. The journey through the caves, the arrival of the spiders, Henry's attempt to kill Ripred, my 'fight' with Henry, Lizzie's fever, Tick's sacrifice at the bridge, finding Lizzie's father, Henry's betrayal, my battle with Gorger and his rats, and the strange series of events that had coincidentally fulfilled Sandwich's prophecy. Of course, I didn't mention the coincidence. I didn't want them to think that I never believed the prophecy. It would demoralize them.

When I had finished storytelling, I was breathless. It was either the lengthness of the tale or the ointments the doctors put on me. Or both. They were already done with operating and had moved on to others.

Solovet asked me who I wanted to visit.

"Everyone in the quest." I shrugged.

 _"So you_ _do_ _care about them."_

 _I don't. I just want to leave a good impression about myself._

 _"If you say so~"_

 _Can you not do that? It's annoying as hell._ No respond. Whatever.

She first led me to Lizzie's father, who was accompanied by Lizzie. He looked so relaxed while he slept. The Underlanders had not only bathed him, but they'd groomed his hair and beard. The foul rat skins had been replaced by silken garments. They'd fed him and given him a calming medicine. Whatever pill they gave him was pretty effective. Wonder if I could borrow a few.

Lizzie was massaging his shoulders when she spotted us. She stopped and rushed to Solovet. "Will he be okay when he wakes up?"

"No one who spends years with the rats can expect to be unchanged," said Solovet gently. Lizzie's pleading face crunched up to sadness in a matter of seconds. "But will his mind and body heal? I believe so." She seemed satisfied with that answer and went back to watch her father lovingly.

"And the Queen?" I asked as we left the hospital.

"She is… what do the Overlanders say? Ah, yes, coping." I merely nodded.

"Overlander!" a happy voice exclaimed, followed by heavy footsteps. Mareth. One of the few Underlanders I liked. He rushed towards us and opened his arms, which was aimed at me. I raised my hand to him to stop the embrace. "No hugs, please," I said. He complied and, to replace the hug, offered his hand. I gladly accepted his offer and we shook.

Now that I was closer, I could see his injuries. There were some minor and major cuts here and there, but overall he was fine. Then, I saw the deep gash on his left calf. He noticed my gaze. "What happened to your-" I was cut short by a tight grip of my hand. I looked at him incredulously. His eyes pleaded to not tell. "Nevermind." I paused to think of a new topic. "How's it going?"

"It goes darkly, as it always goes in war. But you have brought back light to us," he said firmly.

I remembered Vikus saying that 'light' was interchangeable to 'life'. "Really? How did I do that?" I asked, pretending to not know, wanting to let Mareth take the spotlight where Solovet could see.

"When news of King Gorger's death reached the rats, they fell into chaos. We have driven them far back into the Dead Land. Without a leader, they are in total disarray," said Mareth.

"Oh, that. Right. I hope it lasts."

Mareth lead me to my old room, the one I had slept before the journey. Solovet didn't follow this time. I quickly showered to get rid of the foul stench that was lingering on my body, and went to bed, snoring softly.

When I awoke, I sensed that I had slept for a very long time. I waited for the drowsiness to go away and went to take a second bath, only this time it was much more relaxing. Once done, I ate the food that had appeared in my room while I was gone. Then, I sat on my bed, wondering what I should do next.

 _"You could always visit them in the hospital," said my counterpart._

 _I'd already did that yesterday, no need to do that again today. Maybe I should go for a stroll._

 _"Come on! Please. Just one more time. You can stroll while you walk to the hospital! It's a win-win for both of us, see?"_

I sighed. _Fine. We'll do it your way. No harm in doing so, right?_

 _"Yes! There isn't! Thanks!"_ he said, fading away. Huh, that's a first. He hadn't thanked me before. Oh well. I stood up and headed for the door, anticipating a long walk.

But once I had opened the door, Luxa ran into my room. Her eyes were red and puffy from all her crying, but she seemed her old self.

"Ryan, you must come! Hurry!" Before I could even answer, she grabbed my hand and pulled me after her. The first contact we had made.

I yanked my hand away. She stopped in her tracks, turned and looked at me, panic and fear written all over her face. "I can run on my own. Explain on the way," I said, and she sprinted down the corridors, me following close behind. "What happened?"

"It's Ares! They mean to banish him!" gasped Luxa. "He did not know! He did not know of Henry's plot more than I!"

God damn the council. Did they ever make any investigations at all? "Faster, then!" I told Luxa.

We burst into a room that I hadn't seen before. Several hundred bats and humans sat on elevated bleachers that rose up around a central stage. In the front row sat the council members, including Vikus and Solovet. In the middle of the stage stood Ares, alone and stooped. I assumed that this was the courtroom, a public one.

When we ran onto the stage, Aurora fluttered out of the bleachers to join us.

Everyone rose to their feet at my appearance and bowed in unison. Vikus was the one who spoke. "Welcome, Warrior, and many thanks for all you have brought us," he said formally. But behind that respectful smile was sadness.

"Yeah, sure. Why are you all banishing Ares?"

"He was privy to Henry's plot. He is a traitor," said a large red bat.

"He's not a traitor. He's my savior. He saved me when he realized that Henry had betrayed us," I said, and I meant it.

"He is bonded to Henry. It is difficult to believe in his innocence," replied the red bat.

"What of my innocence?" asked Luxa, her voice tight. "No one was nearer to Henry than myself. Will you banish me as well?"

An uncomfortable murmur ran through the room. Everyone knew how close the cousins had been, and yet she was the one being targeted by the treachery of Henry. Their bonds were strong, but Henry swiftly destroyed it, and in turn, destroyed her. It was pretty saddening for a young teenager, who was going to be queen in a few years time. The emotional trauma would haunt her to death.

"You said 'difficult'. So it's hard, but it's possible. Can't you at least _try_ to believe?" I said.

The red bat processed that information. "Even if Ares is cleared on charges of treason, there is still the issue of his breaking of the bond," it said. "That is in itself a cause of banishment."

I folded my arms. "No offense, but you _really_ have to work on your investigation. Didn't you hear what I just said? Henry was the traitor. He's the one that broke his own bond himself, not Ares. Shouldn't there be a special rule or something for that kind of situation?"

Several council members began to dig through piles of old scrolls, probably hoping to find an answer to my question. But some others were clearly after blood. Ares's blood.

"Whether he is banished for treason or bond breakage, I care not. I just want him gone. Who among us can trust him again?" shouted a woman beside the red bat.

There was an uproar in the area. Ares seemed to hunch down further, as if crushed by the weight of their anger. He was bottling down a myriad of emotions on every word they said: Anger, hate, guilt, fear, worry and sorrow. It was switching back and forth so quickly that I couldn't keep up with it. But he was smart enough to keep it down. One wrong move and his execution would be inevitable.

I ruffled my hair. Why is it so difficult to reason with the council? There was sufficient evidence that Ares was innocent due to Luxa's and my testament. Why do they hate him so much? Did Ares do something equally wrong in the past? Damn it. Too many questions, again. What could I do to make sure he stays alive? That triggered an idea. If all goes well, I could save him.

I saw the woman, who had last spoke, nudging the red bat and mouthing some words to it. "Yes, who among us could ever trust him again?" it said, repeating her words. So _that's_ what's going on. Time to make my announcement.

"I will!" I shouted, silencing the crowd. "I trust him with my life!" My plan was starting.

I ran towards Ares and extended my arm. He lifted his head and looked at it in puzzlement, then after a few seconds, understood the meaning behind my action. "Oh, no, Overlander," he whispered, making sure his voice was audible to my ears but not to the surrounding crowd. "I am not worthy to accept."

" Oh shut up and take it already," I said, grabbing the claw of his left wing with my right hand. Everyone was staring at us. You could hear a pin drop in the room as I recited the poem I faintly remembered.

"Ares the flier, I bond to you. Our life and death are one, we two," I paused. I couldn't remember the rest. Luckily, Luxa was standing close behind me, feeding the words to me in a whisper to complete the ritual.

"In dark, in flame, in war, in strife." The next line had my very own genuine gratitude. "I save you as I save my life." I meant it.

Some hope had came back to Ares. The legendary warrior bonding to him should be able to let him escape banishment, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime choice. Still, he hesitated. Like Luxa, I could see the inner conflict written all over his face. Unlike Luxa, his took longer. The guilt and regret were still evident, but he decided to ignore it.

He shut his eyes tight and shook his head. His mouth opened and he spoke it back clearly, replacing his name with mine.

"Ryan the Overlander, I bond to you. Our life and death are one, we two. In dark, in flame, in war, in strife. I save you as I save my life."

It was done. We won. At least, I think it should be able to. I thought of something else, one that could potentially pull it off.

I raised my hand together with his claw and spoke in a serious tone for better effect. "I am Ryan the Warrior. Who dares to banish Ares, my bond?"

* * *

 **Yeah! Next chapter will be the last chapter for book one, if I don't have anymore to add. Please don't hold back your criticism! It would boost my morale!**  
 **P.S. If you haven't noticed it yet, when Ryan sees an Underlander creature, he normally refers it as 'it'. But as he acknowledges 'it' more, it changes to 'he' or 'she'. A few examples include Ripred (almost immediately) and Ares (more in this chapter). Just a minor little touch I added for Ryan's gradual change in heart.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I apologize for the wait! I spent a lot of time studying for my upcoming exams, and I barely had enough time to write this chapter.**  
 **Anyways, it's the last chapter! It should be! Whatever! Let's make it cheery! Woohoo!**

* * *

There was anger and argument and a lot of talk about the law, but in the end, they couldn't banish Ares. The fact that I had bonded with Ares carried more weight than I had anticipated.

One old man still dug furiously through his scrolls until Vikus stopped him. "Oh stop rattling your skins, we clearly have no precedent for this," he said.

While Vikus and other council members tried to calm everyone down, I turned to my new bond. "So, how do you feel about all of this?"

"I feel... confused. Why do you save me, after what you had almost done to Lizzie?"

I grinned. "So you knew."

"I was at the front when we searched for her. You almost killed her until you detected us. If I may ask, why?"

"Can you keep a secret?" I quipped.

"I have kept many," he said. "One more would not make a difference."

I gave a sound of acknowledgement. "She knows what I did up there. I killed her mother and brother."

Ares took a moment to absorb that information. "I see," he said simply, as if nothing else could explain that.

I shrugged. "It's fine. I thought it was time to say it to someone anyways. Besides, she knows and is halfway into forgiving me. I think."

"I have another question. How did you detect us? I have a strong guess, but I want to hear your answer."

"Same way you and the rest of the bats do. Echolocation. I'm a natural," I couldn't help but say.

He merely nodded and began to drift to his own thoughts.

When the chaos was over, Lizzie appeared, accompanied by her father and her sister, with a nurse desperately telling him something. Dulcet followed close behind. Boots was sitting on his shoulders, prompting a cookie to her rider. He laughed and accepted, munching on it once it was stuffed in his mouth.

"Please, you must rest," said the nurse urgently.

He dismissed her with a wave of a hand. "I'll be fine. I just need to thank the Warrior." He walked towards me and analyzed me from head to toe.

The nurse still wanted him to rest, but after a little talk with Dulcet, she convinced her otherwise. She nodded understandingly and went back to whatever she does.

I eyed at Boots, who dispensed her last cookie in his mouth, saying: "No, Da-da eat cookie."

Somehow that action made me smirk. Kids these days. Whatever they do would give joy to even the most emotionless person. "What's up with her?" I asked him.

"The nurse told her to make me eat, and she takes her job very seriously," said her father with a smile. Apparently Lizzie hadn't told him about his wife. Either that or he knew but doesn't want to show it to me. I preferred the former.

"You alright then?" My mouth moved by itself. _God dammit._

"Oh, a few square meals, I'll be as good as new," he said, but I knew he was lying. It seemed like he knew too, as if saying those words would comfort him.

A moment of silence ensued. He looked at me like he wanted me to spill out the beans, but there was nothing in my head that would start the conversation. I fidgeted, uncomfortable.

Suddenly, his knees buckled and he slammed his hands onto my shoulders. His breath was shaking and his mouth was quivering. Now that I was closer to him, I could see the amount of strength he exerted to even stand from the scrunched up look on his face. He was using every ounce of muscle to move his legs and walk. He had hidden away his pain from everyone but me. He did all of that, just to thank me. No wonder the nurse wanted him to rest so badly.

Tears and emotions gushed out, and he broke into a sob. "Thank you. Thank you, for saving me and my daughters." His genuine sincerity made me blush slightly. No one had ever thanked me before. Not counting my other self, of course.

I instinctively scratched the back of my head. "You're welcome..."

After a firm nod by him, he wiped his tears and limped off to where he came from, mumbling something about 'listening to the nurse'. Lizzie didn't follow him this time, only Boots.

I saw her observing my face, as if there is something interesting on it. "What?"

She gave me a cheeky smile. "You've changed."

"Oh shut up. Go play with your sister or something." As soon as I said that, I walked away, not caring about her. Light footsteps followed mine. Not wanting to turn around, I used echolocation and 'saw' her tailing me, not even trying to hide. I stopped in my tracks. She did too.

I sighed. "What do you want?"

"I want to find Vikus."

I did a short laugh. "And you think _I_ know where he is?"

She did a small shrug. "You're my best lead."

"Right... And Solovet, Mareth and Dulcet aren't?"

"They don't know where he is either. Besides, Vikus might be looking for you."

I inwardly groaned. "Fine, whatever." I continued walking, with her close behind. "So much for my peaceful stroll," I muttered. But secretly, I wanted to talk to Vikus about something as well, just that I didn't want to tell her. Too embarrassing.

I wandered around the palace, while Lizzie scanned around, trying to find Vikus. While doing so, she often trotted away and then have to catch up to me once she didn't find what she was looking for, pattering her small feet on the way. It was consistently ticking me off. After about five more times of that, I couldn't take it anymore and harshly told her to make her footsteps be in sync with mine. She gave a wordless nod and the next time she did it, it was quieter.

When I became satisfied with my walk, I made my way back to my room to have a nice long nap. Lizzie still followed regardless, saying that she might meet him on the way there. We passed the room I had been taken prisoner, and sitting alone at the table surrounded by piles of scrolls and maps sat none other than Vikus. His face brightened up when he saw us, and he waved us into the chamber.

Lizzie was more than happy to, but for me? Not so much. I wanted to talk to him alone. When Lizzie approached to him, he stared at me, as if he wanted me to join them; his eyes practically pleading. How could one say no to that? So, with a great sigh, I went up to them.

"Come, come, we have not yet spoken since your arrival," he said eagerly. "How bodes your father?" he asked Lizzie.

"Better. Much better," she said, sitting across from Vikus, beside me. "When can we go home?" Her voice sounded desperate.

"You may go home tomorrow." She seemed satisfied. Then became confused.

"But what about my dad? Shouldn't he be recovering in here?

Vikus smiled reassuringly. "Do not worry. Your father is fit enough to walk. He will be given medication from our doctors to aid in his recovery. We do not want to waste your time here in the Underland."

The way he said it makes him sound so miserable and pained that she was leaving. I kinda feel bad for him.

She nodded, understanding.

For a moment, we all just sat there, not sure what to say.

Vikus broke the silence by striking a conversation with me. "So, Warrior... You leaped."

I snorted. "More like fell. Lucky Ares was there," I added.

"Lucky for Ares, too," said Vikus. "Lucky for us all. Know you the rats are in retreat?"

"Yeah. Mareth told me."

"I believe the war will soon be at an end," said Vikus. "The rats have begun to battle one another for their throne."

"Is Ripred one of those rats?"

"Yes. I have heard from him. He is assembling a party of rats sympathetic to his cause in the Dead Land. It will not be an easy task to take leadership of the rats. He must first convince them that peace is desirable, and that will be a long struggle. Still, he is not an easy rat to ignore," said Vikus.

I grinned. "I bet. They're too scared to fight him."

"With good reason. No one can defend themselves against him," said Vikus.

"No one, huh?" I mumbled. I wondered if I could take him on. Nobody heard, fortunately.

"Ah, that reminds me. I have something for you. I know you have your own weapon, but the council asks me to present to you this."

He reached beneath the table and brought out a long object wrapped in very thick silk. I unrolled it and found a stunningly beautiful sword, studded with jewels.

"It belonged to Bartholomew of Sandwich himself. It is the wish of my people that you accept it," said Vikus.

"Can I hold it?" My hands were itching to touch it. He handed it to me; his face proud.

When I held it by the hilt, which had several shiny shards planted in it, almost everything about it exceed my expectations. The weight of the sword was lighter than I thought. It's size made it look quite heavy, but only by holding it convinces it otherwise. I whistled, impressed, and carefully inspected the jeweled sword.

On the pommel of the sword was a small gem, sparkling radiantly under the light of the torches. The cross-guard was curved forward, good for parrying opponents.

I tried it out, slashing it in thin air with a light swing. A faint swoosh was the result. The blade seemed to slice the air elegantly and gracefully.

Now for the sharpness. After politely asking Vikus to give me a target -which he did with a fairly large stone the size of a fist- I took a stance, ready to cut it down. I drove the sword down, cleanly chopping the rock in half. Not bad.

The legendary sword felt like it was meant for me. The lightness, the slience and the design all suited my tastes. But there was one problem.

"It's too long," I said, voicing out my displeasure.

It was true. The reason why I used daggers was to give myself a disadvantage due to my Rager powers. Before I had killed the brother and mother, I was using guns. But after the fight with Gregor, I disposed them and used daggers and knives instead. Small, light and easy to carry around without suspicion.

"I see," said Vikus, nodding his head and staring at me carefully. He turned to Lizzie. "What of you, Lizzie? You had lacked a weapon in your journey."

He said it as if he _wanted_ her to have it.

She immediately denied. "I'm not a fighter. I want to be like you," was her reason.

"I have fought in many wars, Lizzie," he said cautiously.

"I know, but you don't go looking for them. You try to work things out every other way you can think of first. Even with the spiders. And Ripred," said Lizzie. "Even when people think you're wrong, you keep trying.".

"Well, then, Lizzie, I know the gift I would wish to give you, but you can only find it yourself," said Vikus.

"What is it?" asked the girl.

"Hope," said Vikus. "There are times it will be very hard to find. Times when it will be much easier to choose hate instead. But if you want to find peace, you must first be able to hope it is possible."

"You don't think I can do that?" asked a baffled Lizzie.

"On the contrary, I have great hope that you can," said Vikus with a smile.

Realizing that the conversation was over, I passed the sword back to Vikus. "Tell them thanks, but no thanks."

"You cannot imagine how happy I am to deliver that message," said Vikus. "And now you two must rest. You all have a journey tomorrow. I think it is time we send you all home."

Lizzie went away after Vikus said that, but I still sat there. He stared at me, confused.

"Well, about that..." I scratched the back of my head once more. "I don't want to go back, yet." I made sure I added the 'yet' to indicate that I'm not staying here forever. Only until the world forgot about me entirely.

Vikus nodded understandingly. "I see. I will make arrangements for you later."

The Underlanders set up a bed in her dad's room that night so that she and Boots could sleep close by. I went back to my room, dumping my backpack on the floor and slept soundly as soon as I hit the bed.

When every Overlander awoke, we were taken to the docks where Lizzie tried to escape the first night she came here. I followed because they needed Ares to bring them there, and because I was his bond. I didn't mind anyways. I mounted up first and my bat greeted me.

"Hey," I replied.

"Ares will take you to the portal above the Waterway," said Vikus to us. "It will be a short distance from there to your home."

Mareth pressed a handful of paper into Lizzie's hand. She realized it was money. "I took it from the museum. Vikus said you may need it to travel in the Overland."

"Thanks," said Lizzie.

"The way is safe now, but do not tarry. As you know, things can shift quickly in the Underland," said Solovet.

Probably realizing that she may never see them again, she hugged everyone goodbye. When it came to the Queen, her hug had more love behind it. The Queen hugged back like they were long-lost sisters.

"We shall see you again someday, Lizzie," whispered Luxa.

"We will," whispered back Lizzie.

A few seconds later, the hug stopped. About time. Vikus seemed to feel the same, only different in reason.

"You must depart directly if you mean to catch the current," said Vikus, leading Lizzie to Ares, who was already carrying her dad.

Once Lizzie had mounted Ares, Vikus gave him a sign and he spread his wings. "Fly you high, Overlanders."

As the giant bat ascended to the air, Boots waved cheerfully at the group. "Bye-bye, Temp! See you soon!" So Temp had befriended Boots. Or the other way around. I don't care.

Down the river we went again, but this time I was flying over the foaming water on Ares's strong back. We soon reached the beach where Lizzie and I had encountered Fangor and Shed. I caught a glimpse of the blackened ground where the fire had been.

"Hey," I began, looking at Lizzie's father. I couldn't take the silence much longer. "What's your name? I haven't heard it yet."

He winced. Lizzie smiled awkwardly at me. "He doesn't want to talk about it. He had once said it was a stupid name."

"It is," agreed her dad.

"Hm."

After a few minutes of me mumbling to myself to stop the boredom, Lizzie suddenly leaned on my shoulder. I was so surprised I almost jumped up in shock.

"Do you think you should follow us, after what you did?" she whispered with a hint of anger and worry, either unaware or not caring about the situation we were in.

"Just tell him the truth once I leave. He should be able to take it."

"Will he?"

Her words lingered in my mind. It was a difficult question. Will he be able to handle two deaths at once, right after he had gained hope by finding two of his daughters? I tossed out that thought, not wanting to think about it now.

About ten minutes later, the river fed into a very vast sea. So this was the Waterway. It's bigger than I thought. Giant waves rolled across the water's surface and crashed onto rocky beaches.

A pair of guards on bats appeared and escorted us over the water. Probably to protect us from the rats. I looked down, checking for any enemies in our vicinity. None. But I had caught a glimpse of a large spiked tail as some creature flipped it out of the waves and then dove. My first guess was the Loch Ness Monster. How stupid of me to think of that.

The guards held their positions as Ares began to ascend into a vast stone cone. At the base, it may have been a couple of miles in diameter. A strange misty wind seemed to be blowing us upward. The currents.

Ares flew in tighter and tighter circles as we ascended. He had to close his wings to squeeze through the opening at the top.

Suddenly we were zipping through tunnels that were made of concrete, not stone, clearly indicating that they were almost home. The bat landed on a deserted stairway and nodded his head upward.

"I cannot go farther," said Ares. "That is your way home. Fly you high, Overlanders."

"Fly you high, Ares," said Lizzie, patting his head. He purred softly and stayed there.

She had a sleeping Boots over her shoulder, so she couldn't help her dad up the long flight of stairs. I sighed. Why does life always find a way to make me help others?

Nevertheless, I helped him up by piggybacking him, since his movements were too slow for my liking. The stairs gradually turned into a straight path. We eventually reached to a wide, two meter-long vertical tunnel, the top being an air duct covered by a rusty metal grate. I shook it. The nails weren't in place. I sighed in relief. I wasn't wearing my vest, so I didn't have a screwdriver with me. Luckily I didn't have to use it.

I opened it as quietly as possible and, while climbing up, quickly scanned my surroundings with echolocation. No one was in here. I then permitted Lizzie to use her flashlight.

The large beam of light practically lit the entire room. Correction, a laundry room. Several washers and dryers leaned onto the walls. Was this an apartment?

"You live in an apartment?" I asked to no one in particular.

Lizzie nodded. "It's not as good as you think it might be."

I didn't know how to answer that, so I left the conversation as it was.

Lizzie told me I could go back down already, but seeing that I had plenty of time, I refused her offer.

We took the elevator up to their hall and I softly opened the door, not wanting to wake anyone up. I could hear an old female voice murmuring about something in a room on the far right.

Lizzie quietly went into the room where the voice I had just heard was and turned her light off. A cool air greeted us. The room was air-conditioned, but it wasn't quite cold. An old woman slept on one side of the queen sized bed. She looked like she was going to wither at any moment. But her figure states the opposite, which shows her as fit.

Lizzie carefully placed Boots on the bed beside her. I did the same with her dad, slumping him beside Boots. There was only a small space left. I reckoned that was for Lizzie.

Thinking that my work was done, I left the family to themselves.

"Thank you," whispered Lizzie, ever so softly.

I didn't know how to answer with words, so I just waved back, even though she couldn't see it.

I went back to the laundry room by stairs and there waited Ares, ready to take off. I mounted up and he flew silently without a word, albeit faster this time. I welcomed the peaceful atmosphere and laid back to relax.

A couple of minutes later, I could feel Ares descending. I arched my back and saw the Underlanders that sent us off, only fewer in numbers. Standing at the dock were Vikus, Solovet and Mareth.

I hopped down onto the ground and walked up to them, folding my arms once in front of them.

"So, what now?"

* * *

 **And that's it! Final chapter of Killer! Yeah, it's a li'l anticlimactic. Don't worry though, I still am going to continue till the last book, but that would take time to write. Get it? Time? As in the the Prophecy of Time? No? Alright...**

 **Again, I deeply apologize about the one month-ish delay. Lots of stuff to do, little time to write. Basically that.**

 **Speaking of which, the second book of this series, which would be called Killer: Bane (since I'm bad at titles myself), might have a hiatus. Exams are haunting everywhere I go in these few months. I'll try to squeeze in whatever free time I have to write it down.**

 **Now, time for some questions! How do you pronounce Ripred? Is it Rip-red or Rip-pred? I'm curious. Oh, and (this is optional) what should I name my second book as? The best name I can currently think of is Killer: Bane. Got that 'meh' kinda feel in it. Oh well. Be as critical as you can!  
**


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